The Shattering
by LindaN
Summary: Vegeta and Bulma's ongoing love story. Told from Vegeta's point of view, it looks at his relationships with Bulma, Trunks, and Kakarrot. Like Vegeta himself, the story is filled with passion, laughter, & tears. UPDATE: Preview of the Shattering II
1. "And quietly from the other world" (Pro...

And quietly from the other world, a gathering of familiar faces -- Krillin, 18, and Marron, Piccolo (who was allowed by King Yemma to return to heaven), Master Roshi, Tien, Chiaoutzu, OxKing, Puar, Oolong, and even Yamcha, who stood at a safe distance, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, and Goku, ChiChi, Gohan, Videl and Goten, as well as Queen Anuhea, Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and Bra -- all joined to together to watch as little Vegeta, Jr., and little Goku, Jr., took their places on the arena floor of that Tenkaichi Budoukai taking place in the world of the living, some 100 years in the future.

"You've done well in your lifetimes, my son and my daughter" the still young and exquisitely beautiful, former Saiyan Queen Anuhea said proudly to Vegeta and Bulma.

"Just look at him!" the wild little Queen beamed. "He looks just like you, Vegeta!"

"Vegeta, that little warrior exists today only because you, my son, in the face of great adversity, chose life rather than death, chose love rather than hate, and chose to create rather than to destroy". 

And the onyx black eyes of the exquisitely beautiful, tiny Anuhea welled with tears as she smiled proudly at Vegeta, knowing that her son had indeed assumed his place with the legendary Saiyan warriors of old. And the onyx black eyes of the proud Prince welled with tears as he smiled right back, knowing that she knew. 

When she walked up to him and embraced him, he didn't turn her away even though he knew everyone was watching.

***********************

**__**

Greetings from the author:

I had recently published the complete version of this chapter to conclude the Shattering, but I soon realized that Vegeta still has too much more to say, and so the story will continue for a while. And with that, I decided to place it as the prologue to _The Shattering _so you can see a happy ending really does exist for Vegeta, but it's still going to take some time for our proud little Prince to get there.

And when the story is complete, a chapter titled _"And quietly from the other world…The Conclusion"_ will appear as the final chapter. 

In the anime world of Akira Toriyama's DBZ and DBGT, Vegeta starts out as a ruthless killer and almost 30 years later, ends up a proud middle-aged warrior completely devoted to Bulma and to his family. He goes on to have a daughter named Bra, who he adores and spoils rotten. And apart from his time spent in the other world after he sacrifices himself to try to destroy Majin Buu, he stays with his family on a daily basis from the conclusion of the Cell Games forward to the end of DBGT. The power of love in his character's life changes Vegeta dramatically, and throughout the anime, the passionate Prince cries more times than even Krillen. He eventually even calls a truce with Kakarotto and together they fight Majin Buu -- and in a true act of impassioned heroics, Vegeta helps save the very earth he set out so long ago to destroy. 

__

The Shattering follows the DBZ storyline, but is indeed its own story as it looks at the sounds of the shattering of Vegeta's barriers to happiness, as he tells his story and shares his heart and mind with us. Like Vegeta, the story is strong and intense, it's wild, passionate, and erotic, it's funny and sad without being weak and out of character for Vegeta, and it's even brutal at times. 

As you read _The Shattering_, I can safely guarantee that at least 99% of you will laugh out loud at least once and I can also safely guarantee that at least 99% of even the strongest warrior out there among you will have eyes that well up with tears at least once as well. But in the words of Anuhea, "it's okay to weep", dear reader, "tears bring life". 

And finally, The Shattering a love story involving Vegeta, Bulma, and Trunks.

Thank you, Vegeta, for touching our lives. We love you. 

**__**

LindaN

***********************

It is now with great excitement that I now launch you into Chapter two as Vegeta's story begins. You will journey with Vegeta as the shear intensity of his body's desire, in combination with the love in his heart for Bulma finally overcomes his sense of reason and two of them connect for the first time.


	2. The Shattering

The Shattering

By LindaN

__

"Something good happened right before he left that world.

His heart was opened up". *

King Kai to Yamcha and Tien

Alone in his quiet place, the brightness of the midday sun forced him to close his eyes to shield them from its intensity. And the heat of the summer afternoon seductively lolled him to slumber. To sleep, perchance to dream, sweet prince -- to dream of the earth woman who had touched him to the very core of his being. In his dreams he was free to hold her, to taste her, to savor her very essence. And rather than ravage her with typical Saiyan cruelty, he would always envelope her gently, savoring her, absorbing her. She would open up to him and allow him to enter her heart and her body with ease. In his dreams, he could love her.

The intensity of the passion he felt upon waking was maddening. 'I am warrior!' he said to himself as he fired a blast that sent the nearby grove of trees into oblivion. 

On his former planet, passion was channeled into anger, anger into rage, and rage into strength. And strength meant victory in battle. On his former planet, mating had evolved into a calculated science permitting only the strongest males and females from each class to participate for the sole purpose of producing offspring. And expressed passion for a fellow warrior, male or female, was a dishonorable crime. Illicit mating was punishable by death.

He determined to distance himself from the object of his passion at all costs. His body had returned to normal and no longer strained against its confines. And with that, he arose to his feet and chose to walk, rather than fly, back to Capsule Corporation.

The woman was nowhere to be found but the fragrance of her perfume lingered in the sultry afternoon air. He decided to train in the Gravity Room rather than gather his possessions and leave as he had planned. It would be good therapy until he could gather his thoughts and decide where to go from here. 

Yet, how could he leave right now? Months earlier, that strange boy had said the androids would surface on planet earth in a little over a year. Their arrival presented him with the unique opportunity to prove once and for all that he was stronger than Kakarrot. 

He decided to stay and train and would make the object of his passion hate him - he determined to treat her with the utmost cruelty, keeping his distance as much as possible. 

But before he could make his escape to the Gravity Room, the familiar sound of her voice preceded her entrance into the living room. 

"Hey, Home Boy - where ya been?" she asked teasingly. The fragrance of her perfume did not completely mask the scent of her body's desire. It electrified him.

"None of your business, woman! Now get out of my way". With that he pushed her aside and stormed past her, dismissing the urge to take her up in his arms as he had done so many times in his dreams. 

He set the machine to 400 times earth normal gravity and the tremendous pressure on his body stopped almost as soon as it started. The device was malfunctioning again.

'Woman", he bellowed over the intercom, "as usual you are too stupid to keep this device working for more than 15 seconds at a time! Get out here right now and fix this sorry excuse for a training chamber. Well? Woman where are you!"

Impatient and agitated, he decided to go straight inside and drag her out to the task at hand. Once inside, instead of finding the woman ready to argue with him, he found her in a heap on the floor. And she wasn't moving. 

"Woman, get up right now! I've got no time for your silly games'. He nudged her with his foot but her body was lifeless. She was unconscious. He knelt down beside her and put his ear to her mouth. He could hear the faint sound of her breath and he was relieved. 

But something was very different about her life energy. He sensed it. And without thinking, he placed his hand on her abdomen. Yes, new cells within her body had begun to grow and he was saddened. Did she know? Was this why she had been so sick lately? Was this why Yamcha had stopped coming around? He vowed to kill the man if he'd chosen to desert her at a time like this. Startled by the intimacy of his touch, he quickly jerked back his hand as though he had just touched hot coals.

"Vegeta, what happened to me? One minute I was standing there and the next thing I know I'm here on the floor".

"Woman, where has your weakling boyfriend been? Why isn't he here with you right now as he should be?" he demanded of her. Enraged, he looked down into the woman's soft blue eyes that had begun to well up with tears. 

"Would you hold me? Just for a little while?" Without waiting for a response, the woman moved herself onto his lap and laid her head on his arm. She held onto him as though she were a small child seeking to be comforted. Silently, he allowed her to cradle herself into him. 

__

"Vegeta, you're not as cold hearted as you believed yourself to be.

A heart of stone cannot shed tears the way you did".*

Kakarrot

And from somewhere deep in within himself he remembered those words. And even though he was a warrior he realized that he too had been cradled in someone's arms as Kakarrot had carried him to his makeshift grave on the planet Namek. He had seen it when he was passing to the next dimension the day he was killed by Frieza.

Looking down at the woman, he watched in silent wonder as the first tear overflowed her cheek and rolled down upon his arm. He had never before felt the intimate warmth of another's tears and he could scarcely hear the woman's words above the sound of the shattering of his defenses. 

He could see that she was opening herself up to him and was allowing him to enter her heart, and was longing for him to enter her body. The scent of her desire was intoxicating to him. With that, he arose to his feet and carried the woman upstairs to her bedroom. As he laid her down on her bed he could hardly breathe. He then looked into her soft blue eyes and he could feel his body begin to strain against its confines. He reached down to touch her tear stained cheek with his fingertips. His fingers moved slowly from her cheek to her chin, from her chin to her neck, and from her neck to her breast. He lingered there for a moment, lowering his hand over her breast, cupping it, savoring its firmness and warmth. 

It had gone too far for him to stop. Passion, compassion, and love entwined together, holding his heart captive. His hand continued its journey down the length of the woman's body, passing slowing over her stomach, and stopping when he reached her body's secret place where he would soon be. Even through her garments he could feel the heat of her body. His gaze was fixed on her as he watched her soft blue eyes watch him remove his own garments, dropping each piece to the floor. He stood before her completely naked and he shared with her the sight of what no other female had ever seen. Yet, the warrior closed his eyes as he saw her hand reach out to encircle him. 

All through that night, she opened herself to him and he entered her heart and her body with ease. He savored her and he loved her. Piccolo had said once that Gohan had staked a claim in his heart so large it was impossible to drive him out - now Vegeta understood what he meant. It was no longer possible to remove the woman from his being. And he knew that that which was already growing in her body did not matter to him. He would care for her always. And the next morning when the woman awoke, he was gone.

No one saw Vegeta for the next several days. He had gone to his quiet place to figure out his next move. He thought about Kakarrot who had attained the legendary transformation to Super Saiyan. Not only did he not have a tail but also he had a mate whom he lived with openly, and he had a son. He lived his life with compassion and without fear and he repeatedly had sacrificed himself for others. 

Vegeta also thought about Piccolo who openly cared about his friends and yet was by far the strongest Namekian he had ever encountered. He decided to train even harder to become stronger than Kakarrot. He would also take the woman for his mate. The intensity of the passion he was feeling was driving him back to Corporation - he determined to have the woman as often as he wanted her. 

"Woman", he bellowed over the intercom, "this device is broken again! Get out here right now and fix this sorry excuse for a training chamber". Vegeta smiled to himself as he imagined her reaction to the sight of him standing stark naked in the middle of the training chamber waiting for her. 

He planned to grab her before she could say a word and reach around her from behind, trapping both of her wrists in one of his hands. With the other hand he planned to rip her lower garment off. Then he was going to put his hands on her hips and raise her up off the floor and he was going to bite her round behind just hard enough to make her scream out in pleasure. And finally, he was going to lower her onto his rigid member -- raising her and lowering her at his discretion, not allowing her to move unless he moved her. Eyes closed, he imagined the scene in his mind. He would have her over and over and she would know what it was like to have a real mate. If she had any thoughts left of Yamcha, today would erase them from her mind. 

Vegeta was so engrossed in his thoughts that he let his defenses down for just a moment in time and didn't hear the door to the chamber open until it was too late. 

"Ah, Vegeta?", Mr. Briefs stammered. "How about if I come back later"? With that, he turned to leave.

"Tell anyone about this and I'll blast you into oblivion". 

"Daddy", Bulma asked, "you've been laughing to yourself all afternoon. What is wrong with you?"

"All in good time, my dear, all in good time. I've got a feeling you are probably going to solve this mystery all by yourself". And with that, Mr. Brief's crumpled onto the couch in uncontrollable laughter. 

Later that night, Vegeta flew into the woman's room through the open window. She was sound asleep and she was wearing only a flimsy night garment. Not wanting to startle her as she might wake up screaming, he gently shook her shoulders. When she woke, he put his hand over her mouth and whispered for her not to make a sound. With that, he gathered her up and flew out of the window. All the way to the quiet place, the woman angrily protested and demanded to be taken home but the scent of her body told him a different story. 

"Woman, I claim you for my mate. You will cook for me and your body will be mine whenever I want it".

"In your dreams Vegeta! Who do you think you are? One night with me and you think you own me? Well think again you jerk! Now take me home before I scratch your eyes out".

"Are you sure you are not part Saiyan?", he teased. "Everything about you screams out to be taken. Now sit down and shut up". 

He walked up behind her and slowly began to rub her temples, then her neck and shoulders. He raised his power level just enough to increase the heat and electricity in his hands as they teasingly made their way down to her breasts. He could feel her breath quicken and he stopped just short of touching them. Still behind her, he touched his lips to her neck as he reached around her waist. He raised her to her feet and pressed her tightly to himself. 

Vegeta put his hands on her inner thighs and spread her legs until he had clear access to that wondrous place that electrified him. With both thumbs he lightly stroked her and she pressed back into him. He had encased her in his arms and could feel her body begin to move in rhythm with him as he began to rock his hips back and forth while pressing her to him. He entered her from behind and out there in the moonlight, their bodies began to move to a dance known only to the both of them. One in which passion overcomes reason, and two truly become one. 

"Do you love me, Vegeta?"

"Woman, you are mine".

"But do you love me?''

"Shut up, or I'll blast you!"

"Will I have to swallow it?"

"Woman you disgust me! Get over here right now and keep me warm". And with that, they fell asleep in the moonlight. 

Over the next several months, Vegeta, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, and Yamcha were the only people who knew about Bulma's pregnancy. The others were off training intensely for the androids. Her son, Trunks, was born about a month before the androids arrived. Vegeta decided to leave Capsule Corporation until the day of battle because he needed to get stronger without distractions and he needed to gather his thoughts about his new offspring.

Time seemed to flow together for Vegeta as the battles began. First the Androids, then realizing that the boy from the future was his adult son, and finally preparing for Cell. It wasn't until he saw his adult son die at the hands of Cell that he came to feel the bond between parent and offspring. That boy claimed a place in is heart and while he had deserted his son in the future, he would not make the same mistake with his young son in the present. After the Cell games, he married Bulma Briefs. 

He had known about Bulma's illness ever since that afternoon five years earlier when he found her on the floor unconscious yet he kept her secret in silence. Those cells he detected growing with in her body were from cancer. Even after the doctors confirmed that his wife was dieing, Vegeta never told a soul that he had known this ending from the very beginning. 

Bulma, in her typical stubbornness, did not want to use the dragon balls to wish her illness away. She didn't want to bother the dragon for something so trivial because she was sure the doctors would be able to cure her. 'Besides', she would say,' if I die, you can just wish me back'. 

How could they have known that Dende himself would die shortly before the doctors announced that Bulma's illness was incurable. And with the death of Dende, the dragon balls disappeared. Try as they might to get to Namek for another guardian, the journey by space ship would have taken several hundred years. 

Vegeta lingered for hours in his quiet place, not wanting to sleep because the dreams broke his heart and not wanting to be awake because the reality was even more painful. Apart from the woman for what seemed to be an eternity, he longed for her. And so he determined to go see her this one last time. And with that he arose to his feet and chose to walk, rather than fly, back to Capsule Corporation. 

Bulma had chosen to die at home where she could be with her friends and family. And she had invited everyone – Krillin, 18, and little Marron, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaoutzu, OxKing, Puar, Oolong, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, and ChiChi, Gohan and little Goten – to come and stay at Capsule Corporation for the last few days of her life. She wanted to be able to talk with all of them, laugh and cry with all of them, and finally say goodbye to all of them. 

As he approached on foot from his quiet place, Vegeta could see everyone standing outside waiting for him. From their river of tears, he knew that this would be the day, indeed, the very hour in which she would be gone forever. 

'I am a warrior', he whispered to himself, 'I can do this'. 

ChiChi reached out to embrace him but he put his hand up to stop her. He stood perfectly erect, shoulders back, and looked straight ahead with all the pride of the Saiyan prince that he was. He simply could not show them the pain within his heart or he would not be able to do what he had to do.

'I am a warrior', he whispered to himself, 'I can do this'. 

He silently walked passed all of them and made his way up the stairs to that familiar bedroom and opened the door. On their bed lay his mate – and passion, compassion, and love once again entwined his heart until he could scarcely breathe. 

The doctor was gazing silently out of the window and his young son, Trunks, was asleep on the bed beside his mother. Vegeta dismissed the doctor and asked him to take little Trunks down to ChiChi.

He watched his wife watch him as he removed his garments and dropped them to the floor. One last time he stood there, naked before her. He lifted the covers and lay beside this woman who had shown him so much in such a short time. Those soft blue eyes that he had looked upon so many times over the last five years welled with tears as he embraced her. She made him promise to always take care of little Trunks. He promised. She made him promise to always love her. He promised. She asked him to promise not to be sad for too long. He simply held her. 

And as his tears spilled down onto her shoulder where he had laid his head, he could scarcely hear her tell him goodbye over the sound of the shattering of his heart. Holding her tightly but unable to keep her, the woman of his dreams passed into the next dimension and was gone. 

* DragonBallZ, episode 72, _The Ultimate Battle. _Funimation Productions

* DragonBallZ, episode 71, _The End of Vegeta. _Funimation Productions


	3. Thank you, Goku

__

"What? Vegeta was crying?

Man, that's wack!" *

Yamcha to King Kai and Tien

Grouped outside of Capsule Corporation, everyone was waiting for some word on Bulma's condition when they saw the doctor walk out of the house with little Trunks still soundly asleep in his arms. 

"He wanted you to watch the boy for a while". And with that the doctor handed the lavender haired little boy to ChiChi. Crying so hard the words could barely come, she asked if Bulma was gone. The doctor said no but added that the time was real close.

"Did you see the way Vegeta just walked past us with his nose up in the air? How can he be so cold hearted?! Man, I hate that guy!", Yamcha said in frustration. 

'No, you're wrong, Yamcha', Piccolo growled. "He is too proud to show us how he really feels. He needs to be strong for his wife now. You have to respect him for that". 

If anyone could even come close to understanding Vegeta, it was Piccolo. He knew what it was like to be born carrying a level of hate so terrible that it could destroy life without remorse. None of the other Z fighters had ever felt it anything like it. How could they? 

Like Vegeta, Piccolo's beginnings had created the rage within him. For both warriors, the love from another, and for another, broke that rage down into something more manageable. Kami knew that Piccolo's heart had changed because of the love he felt for Gohan, just as Piccolo knew that Vegeta's heart had changed because of the love he felt for Bulma.

Piccolo had reluctantly overheard the lover's final farewell to each other through the open upstairs window. This was one time that he wished his sense of hearing wasn't quite so good. Fighting back his own tears, he announced to everyone that it was over. Bulma was gone.

Vegeta arose from the bed and gazed at the body of his lifeless mate. Those soft blue eyes were now closed and the sound of her breath was gone. At that moment, he felt drained of emotion and strength. Where would he go from here? He had promised the woman to care for their son, but how was he going to do that? He knew nothing of raising a child! One last time, he touched her tear stained cheek with his fingers, then he straightened the covers around her and put his garments back on. 

Gazing silently out of the window, he attempted to regain his composure. He determined to walk up to ChiChi, get little Trunks, and fly the both of them off to his quiet place. He would let the rest of them worry about the final preparations for the days ahead. He didn't want any part of it.

Quietly from the other world, King Kai was allowing Goku to watch everything that was unfolding in the lives of his friends and family on planet earth that afternoon. 

"Oh man, King Kai!" Goku said with tears streaming down his face. "We can't let it end this way. Just look at all of them. Isn't there something we can do?"

"Perhaps there is Goku. Perhaps there is".

__

"Vegeta, a heart of stone cannot shed tears the way you did". * Those words again! 

"Damn you Kakarrot, get out of my head and leave me alone! I don't want to hear this right now", he said sharply out loud to himself.

And without warning, a familiar hand touched his shoulder.

"I'm not in your head, Vegeta. I'm right behind you. Turn around". 

"Kakarrot?! But how? Its not possible". And smiling in that special way that only Goku could smile, he walked right up to Vegeta and encased the warrior in his arms. 

"You really love her, don't you, Vegeta. What if you could have her back?" 

And the next thing Vegeta knew, he was up at Kami's lookout. A few seconds later, everyone who had been standing outside of Capsule Corporation -- Krillin, 18, and little Marron, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaoutzu, OxKing, Puar, Oolong, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, and ChiChi with little Trunks the still sound asleep in her arms, Gohan and little Goten -- had also appeared.

Goku began to explain to everyone that he and King Kai had telepathically contacted Elder Muuri on the planet Namek. He went on to say that it was with great joy that Muuri agreed to summon Porunga on their behalf. The first thing they did was wish Dende back to life. And with Dende, the earth Dragonballs reappeared. 

Next, he told the noticeably shocked group that they wished for the earth's Dragonballs to be active right away. With the third wish, Goku asked to be able to be transported to back to earth so he could tell all of them what was going on. Porunga had agreed and the Grand Kai granted Goku just one short hour to return to talk with them. 

"We're ready Dende". Goku said. And with that, Dende and Mr. Popo brought out the seven sparkling, orange DragonBalls.

"Its your show, Vegeta!" 

With Dende's help, he summoned Shenlong, and the sky soon darkened and the Dragon appeared. He wished the woman of his dreams back to the world of the living and within an instant, the one he thought was gone forever was standing there, right in front of him. And he could hardly hear himself breathe over the sound of the shattering of the sadness that had gripped his heart. 

She was alive and was standing there, right in front of him! He could hardly believe it. He watched those soft blue eyes well up with tears but this time they were tears of joy. Once again, passion, compassion, and love entwined together, holding his heart captive. 

Even though the knew the others were watching, he didn't push her away when she jumped into his arms. He just held her close and smiled.

"Woman, do you know how much trouble you have caused?", he asked teasingly. " Our front yard is now a lake from all of the tears that were shed for you. Especially the Namek -- you turned him into a blubbering idiot. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, we could always go skinny dipping". 

And with that, the sound of laughter broke out among all of Bulma's family and friends up on Kami's lookout. The only one now crying was little Trunks, who had been startled awake by everyone.

Then Vegeta surprised everyone by asking if he might have the second wish as well.

"Dragon -- in the future, there is another woman named Bulma. Is she still alive?" Yes, the dragon replied.

"Is it possible to restore to life the man in her time who fathered her child? If so, is it possible for him to have my memories of these last five years?". The Dragon granted his wish and disappeared.

"Hey guys -- my time here is up and I gotta go. Bye for now".

And before anyone could say a word, Goku had been returned back to the other world. And Vegeta fought back the tears welling up inside of him as silently thanked Kakarrot for what he had just done. 

Bulma asked ChiChi if she would take care of little Trunks for the next few days. 'After all', she said suggestively, 'she and Vegeta had some serious catching up to do'.

"Woman", he bellowed over the intercom, "this device is broken again! Get out here right now and fix this sorry excuse for a training chamber". Vegeta smiled to himself as he imagined her reaction to the sight of him standing stark naked in the middle of the training chamber waiting for her. And he stood secure this time, knowing that he had changed the code on the door to one that only his wife knew.

When she entered the chamber, he grabbed her before she could say a word and trapped both of her wrists in one of his hands. With the other hand, he ripped her lower garment off. Then he put his hands on her hips and raised her up off the floor and bit her round behind just hard enough to make her scream out in pleasure. And finally, he lowered her onto himself. And she allowed him to enter her heart and her body with ease.

"That was incredible, Vegeta".

"Well of course it was woman! You would have expected anything less?"

"Vegeta, tell me again about the look on Daddy's face when he walked in on you five years ago, pleeease?"

"Oh, alright. But only if it will shut you up for a while". 

As Vegeta told her the story one more time, their bodies shook with uncontrollable laughter while they lay there together on the floor of the training chamber.

And on that very night twenty years in the future, Mirai Vegeta flew into a familiar bedroom through the open window. The woman was sound asleep and she was wearing only a flimsy night garment. Even though she was older, she was still as beautiful as she was the last time he saw her. Not wanting to startle her as she might wake up screaming, he gently shook her shoulders. When she woke, he put his hand over her mouth and whispered for her not to make a sound. With that, he gathered her up and flew out of the window. All the way to the quiet place, the woman angrily protested and demanded to be taken home but the scent of her body told him a different story. 

"Woman, I claim you for my mate. You will cook for me and your body will be mine whenever I want it".

"In your dreams Vegeta! Who do you think you are? Twenty years ago, you sleep with me, then you desert me, then you up and die on me, and now you think you can just fly back into my life and act like you own me? Well think again you jerk! Now take me home before I scratch your eyes out"!

"Woman, I still think you are part Saiyan", and he laughed. "Now sit down and shut up". 

He walked up behind her and slowly began to rub her temples, then her neck and shoulders. He raised his power level just enough to increase the heat and electricity in his hands as they teasingly made their way down to her breasts.

He could feel her breath quicken and he stopped just short of touching them. Still behind her, he touched his lips to her neck as he reached around her waist. He raised her to her feet and pressed her tightly to himself. 

He had encased her in his arms and could feel her body begin to move in rhythm with him as he began to rock his hips back and forth while pressing her to him. He entered her from behind and out there in the moonlight, their bodies began to move to a familiar dance. One in which passion overcomes reason, and two truly become one. 

"Do you love me, Vegeta?"

"Woman, you are mine".

"But do you love me?''

"Yes woman, I love you. Get over here right now and keep me warm". And with that, they fell asleep in the moonlight. 

__

"Vegeta, you're not as cold hearted as you believed yourself to be……*

Kakarrot

* DragonBallZ, episode 72, _The Ultimate Battle. _Funimation Productions

* DragonBallZ, episode 71, _The End of Vegeta. _Funimation Productions

* DragonBallZ, episode 72, _The Ultimate Battle. _Funimation Productions


	4. Second Best

__

"Since I've come to this world,

I'm still second best to you"*

Vegeta to Kakarrot while fighting Janenba

Alone in his quiet place, he replayed the confrontation with his mate one more time in his mind. Two years had passed since Bulma had been brought back to life by the dragonballs and he found himself growing increasingly restless. He could scarcely concentrate on anything in his life as of late over the sound of the shattering of the inner peace he had held so dearly. Yes, all traces of his peace were nearly gone now.

'Woman, leave me alone! There is nothing wrong with me', he had shouted angrily at his mate from across the kitchen table slamming his fists down so hard that dishes flew and the table broke. Trunks just sat there stunned. And in a typical response, first came Bulma's bitter words and then finally, her tears. 

Each time she would ask what was wrong with him, he would respond with more anger and sharpness than he had intended. But the truth was, something was wrong and he was raging against it. It was illusive and haunting, and it was growing. Deep inside of himself, he knew something bad was coming. He also knew that his newfound sense of protectiveness toward his mate and his son was part of the problem. Somehow, he knew this upcoming evil was going to affect them too. But how could he stop it if he didn't even know the source? 

"Perhaps I am just losing my mind", Vegeta said to himself. And he closed his eyes to shield them from the afternoon sun's intensity. 

He tried to convince himself that the problem had to do with the last seven years since the Cell Games when Kakarrot died and had chosen to remain in the other world. 'It is simply that I'm not accustomed to these soft times of peace', he told himself.

It was in his own house that Kakarrot had announced he would be returning to earth for just one day to fight in the upcoming Marshall Arts Tournament. Finally, Vegeta would have the opportunity prove once and for all that he was the strongest. He determined to use this opportunity to regain the honor and pride that he felt had been lost to Kakarrot. Finally, the humiliation of being second best to a low level Saiyan would come to an end. But even the excitement of this challenge did not eliminate his deepening sense that something was very wrong.

As he sat on the ground with his back against a tree, Vegeta began to think about Trunks and how different his son was at 8 than he himself was at that age. It had just come to his attention that Trunks was already a Super Saiyan. The boy was strong, yet he was spoiled and pampered, and he had never before experienced any type of battle apart from his spats with the youngest son of Kakarrot.

By the time he had turned 8, Frieza had already taken Vegeta from his father. At age 8, he had already taken the lives of others. And at age 8, the young Prince was totally alone -- no father, no kingdom, and no home planet. As time went on, he learned to survive by turning his feelings off. And by the time he reached adulthood, he had forgotten that he even had feelings. The only thing left inside of him was rage.

And now, he longed for the simplicity of those times. His attachment to the woman and his son would forever change how he fought. The killer instinct that he used to have in battle had somehow lost it's edge. 

"I am a warrior"! He shouted to the trees and the mountains as he sprang to his feet.

"I _will_ fight you Kakarrot and I will totally defeat you! Do you hear me?" Vegeta stood shouting defiantly upwards toward the sky as though Kakarrot could somehow hear him.

"I can never forgive you for surpassing me and I can never forgive you for saving my life. You, a low level, and me, a Prince. Do you hear me up there where ever you are, you bastard!" continued Vegeta as he shot an energy blast straight upward into the sky.

"I _will_ kill you this time, Kakarrot. I don't care about the good things you've done. I don't care about your family. I don't care about mine anymore either! I don't. They can all go straight to hell. I don't care anymore. I don't! Do you hear me, Kakarrot?!. I don't care anymore. I'm the one with royal blood in my veins and you have humiliated me long enough, I will…….."

"So Vegeta, just who are you trying to convince that you don't care anymore? Is it Goku? Or is it yourself you're talking to?" Shocked, Vegeta spun around only to see Piccolo standing there, in full glory with his crossed arms and his caped arrogance.

"And just what are _you_ doing here, Namek? You had better turn your green hide around and fly away right now before I blast you into oblivion!" 

"Not until you answer my question. Who are you trying so hard to convince?"

"Namek! _What are you doing here_?" Vegeta was so enraged that the words came out in a dangerous, deadly hiss.

"Vegeta, that blast you fired off nearly hit the lookout. Besides, it was hard to not hear your little temper tantrum down here", Piccolo answered with a sarcastic smirk. "What is wrong with you!"

"And since when did you come to care so deeply about Vegeta?" the warrior asked with sparks of electricity shooting out around him.

"I'll ask you again. It's not a hard question. Why are you trying so hard to convince yourself that you are still a cold-blooded killer who doesn't care about anything or anyone? You're not that person anymore, Vegeta. Now give it a rest already!" Vegeta could see that Piccolo was not giving an inch.

"Look, Namek. Don't you think I already know that? It's maddening. I am not the warrior I used to be. My feelings have made me weak and now I fear that I will never be stronger than Kakarrot. So there. Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear? Now you answer me this -- just what will it take to get you to _go away and leave me alone_?!!

"It's your call Vegeta". And with that, Piccolo leapt into the sky and was soon out of sight.

In utter frustration, Vegeta fell to his knees and slammed his fists hard on the ground. 'The Namek is right', he thought to himself. 'I have changed. I am not the warrior I used to be. And that means I will never be stronger than Kakarrot now'! 

Hot tears of anger began to flow down his cheeks. In all of his life, Bulma and Kakarrot were the only two people who had ever caused him to shed tears and right now he hated both of them for it. And out there, alone and on his knees in his quiet place, sobs shuddered through his body as the proud Prince wept bitterly.  


From high upon Kami's lookout, Piccolo watched with great concern. He too had been getting dark images of an upcoming evil. Even though he didn't know how yet, he knew that Vegeta would somehow play an important role as the upcoming drama, whatever it was, unfolded.

And from a distance high on a hill, a young lavender haired boy also watched with great concern. 

"Please don't cry, Poppa", Trunks whispered to his father. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again. I love you Poppa, you're the best! Please come home soon." 

And the young son of Vegeta chose to walk, rather than fly, back to Capsule Corporation.

__

"I'm still second best to you"*

__

Vegeta

*Movie 12. _The Rebirth of Fusion: Goku and Vegita_

*Movie 12. _The Rebirth of Fusion: Goku and Vegita_


	5. Betrayal

"_Everybody deserves a second chance , Vegeta._

Just like you had…."*

Goku to Vegeta while fighting Frieza

He wasn't sure how long the small figure had been standing there beside him, unnoticed. It wasn't until he felt the familiar touch of the small hand on his shoulder that he was brought back to reality. Slowly he shifted off of his hands and knees and sat on the ground with one leg bent and other straight out. He looked at the dirt and grime on his usually white boots and gloves, and he felt shame about his earlier behavior. And so, rather than acknowledge his son right away, the warrior continued to glance down at the ground.

'Had the boy seen everything?' Vegeta silently asked himself. 'Oh no, and what if he heard me too? This is my son and he should never see me in such a pathetic state as this. I can only image what the boy must think of me now.' And he felt ashamed.

He sat staring at the ground for a little while longer and in spite of himself, he glanced up and looked into the gentle pair of lavender eyes looking back at him. And what he saw there shocked him. There was no distain or hatred; rather, Vegeta saw the essence of himself reflected back in soft lavender shades of unconditional love and pride. 

No one had ever looked at him in quite that way before and he was moved beyond words. It was with a sense of awe that Vegeta realized that in the heart and mind of his young son, he was second to none. And the warrior could barely hear his own heartbeat over the sound of the shattering of the anguish that had been tormenting him.

The boy still hadn't said a word and simply, and silently, sat down on the ground beside his father. Vegeta was amused as glanced at the boy who was sitting in exactly the same pose as he was. He decided to lower his head down on his arms that were crossed on his knee, and after a few moments he slyly glanced over at his young son who was in the exact same position. Trying not to sound obvious, Vegeta sighed and sure enough, Trunks soon sighed. Vegeta glanced upward toward the sky, put his hands behind his head and seeming very deep in thought, he decided to slowly lie down onto his back. And in no time at all, the lavender haired boy was in the exact same position.

"Hey Poppa, look! That one looks like a dragon. You see it?

"What are you talking about son?"

"The clouds, Poppa, the clouds". Trunks scooted over real close until their shoulders were touching and then he pointed upward. "Now do you see it"?

"No".

"Come on, Poppa. You find one".

"What! Find a dragon in the clouds"?

"Poppa!" Trunks scolded. " You've never watched clouds before? No way! Goten and me, we do it all the time. Here's what 'cha do…first you gotta let your mind go real stupid and empty kinda. Okay? And then you just stare at the clouds without blinking. That's the important part Poppa, okay? So make sure you don't blink". 

"Okay, okay…. Like this, son?" teased Vegeta, displaying an exaggerated squint. 

"I think you got it Poppa!" Trunks said proudly. "Now just let your mind go real stupid and just stare at them, okay? Remember not to blink".

So Vegeta lie there, staring upward simply trying to amuse his son, but much to his amazement, he started to see the distinct shape of a clown in a huge towering cloud. "Trunks! Look at that one, look. It's a clown. I don't believe it. That cloud looks just like a clown". 

"Good job, Poppa!" The lavender haired child was beaming. And with that, the boy rolled over onto his side and gathering every ounce of courage he had, he reached out and lightly brushed some dirt off the cheek of his father.

"What do you think you are doing, Trunks"? he asked, a little startled by the invasiveness of his son's action. Vegeta had no idea that his tears from earlier in the day had washed several tiny river like streams through the dirt and grime on his face. 

"Nothing, Poppa". The lavender haired boy's heart had leapt up into his throat. 

"Poppa?"

Silence. 

"Poppa?"

"What!"

"Poppa, do you love me?"

"Trunks, you are my son!"

"But Poppa, do you love me?"

"Yes son, I love you! Now be still and help me find some egg rolls up in those clouds of yours. I'm starving!" And with that, father and son laughed and spent the rest of the afternoon out in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

Later, when the two hungry, dirty, and tired Saiyans returned home to Capsule Corporation, the fragrance of Bulma's perfume lingered in the sultry summer air, but the woman was nowhere to be found. And the scent of her body's desire, which was never completely masked by any aroma in the house, now sickened Vegeta. He picked up the phone and asked ChiChi if Trunks could spend some time over with Goten.

"Oh wow! You mean it Poppa? Great. I'll go upstairs and get some clean clothes", Trunks said excitedly.

"No son, you just go now. I think your mom is asleep upstairs and you might wake her up. You can change at Goten's house. And remember to bathe. Stay there until I come to get you. Now go!" And with that, the young son of Vegeta hurried excitedly out of the front door of Capsule Corporation.

'I am a warrior', Vegeta whispered to himself. 'I can do this'. 

And slowly, step by step, he made his way up the stairs to the familiar bedroom where his mate lay. With each step, the proud Prince was trying to sort out what he was feeling and much to his dismay, he just wasn't sure yet. The events of the day had already drained him of most of his emotion and energy and when he opened the bedroom door, rather than react with his usual impulsive rage, he stood there in silence. And he felt nothing. He was numb.

And _there_ - on the very bed where he had made love with the woman of his dreams for the first time, _there_ - on the very bed where his son was born, _there_ - on the very bed where the woman had died two years earlier, and _there_ - on the very bed where he had made love with her just the night before, his wife was allowing another man to enter her heart and body with ease. He wasn't sure what was shocking him more, the fact that his mate was with another man, or the fact that she was with him on that bed. Of all the possible rooms in the house, why there he asked himself.

Bulma was on her hands and knees and her lover had mounted her and was riding her with wild abandon. And it was obvious to Vegeta that the two lovers moved in harmony to a familiar dance, and that they were familiar and comfortable with each other bodies. Indeed, they had done this before. 

It took several minutes before Bulma realized her husband was standing in the open doorway and was watching. All activity on the bed stopped suddenly as the two lovers realized they had just been discovered. Only a few seconds earlier, both Bulma and Yamcha had been in the throws of ecstasy but now both were frozen in position waiting for death to come. 

And for what seemed to be an eternity the only sound they heard was silence as both stared into Vegeta's dirty, smudged face, which still streaked from the hot tears shed earlier in the day. Silently, he stared back at both of them. Then he turned and closed the door with precise determination. At that moment, the warrior knew exactly what he was going to do. 

He stood out in the hallway for just a second, turned, and with one simple kick sent the door to the bedroom flying off of its hinges. 

"You two had better get your sorry selves off of that bed right now unless you wish to die with it!" Bulma and Yamcha scrambled to get off the bed to a place of safety.

"Die, you stupid bed! Die, die, die!" And with that, the wounded warrior blasted it into oblivion. Mattress parts flew, bed frame parts flew, the nearby dresser slid through the hole blasted in the floor to the lower level and the room was filled with feathers from the newly deceased down comforter and pillows.

"Sorry for the interruption. You two can get back to doing whatever it was you were doing". And with that, he turned and walked back out of the doorway and Bulma knew that she had just harmed her husband every bit as much as Frieza had. Maybe even more so, because he had learned to trust her. And now, even she had betrayed him. She slumped onto the floor and wept bitterly. 

Vegeta walked down the hallway to one of the spare bedrooms and took a change of clothes out of the closet. With precision, as though he were going into battle, he carefully chose a pair of black leather pants that would cling to him and fit him like a glove. He looked through the drawer with the socks and underwear and chose socks but decided against briefs. He really liked the way the leather pants felt and looked on him without underwear. Then he found just the right black belt and shoes, and finally decided on a tight red tank top. The time that took to coordinate his garments was somehow calming to him. Satisfied with his choices, he made his way further down the hall to the bathroom to shower. In typical fashion after a shower, he meticulously shaved, brushed his teeth, and even decided to splash himself with the expensive cologne Bulma had given to him for his birthday last year. It was the cologne he was wearing when he made love with her last night. And when he was dressed and satisfied with himself, he went back downstairs. 

And just like he had expected, the two lovers were waiting for him when he entered the living room. Nervousness, fear, and humiliation surrounded the both of them and Vegeta was pleased in an arrogant sort of way.

"Vegeta, I don't know what to say", Bulma said quietly, with eyes turned downward. "This is the only time I've ever been unfaithful to you. I'm so sorry. I was just so hurt after our fight this morning and Yamcha stopped by. I didn't plan it Vegeta. Please don't hate me."

"_Everybody deserves a second chance, Vegeta…."*_

Goku

And Vegeta remembered those words spoken by Kakarrot on the Planet Namek. 'Stupid Saiyan', he thought to himself. 'What does _he _know about real pain anyway?!'

"Just shut up woman or I'll blast the both of you into oblivion". And this time, he was deadly serious when he said it.

"To tell you the truth, I am surprised you two are done already", he said through clinched teeth. "_Sorry if I_ _had anything to do with it_"! 

And with that, Vegeta started to move toward the door.

"Vegeta, where are you going? What are you going to do? Please don't go." Bulma was now pleading with her husband. 

And the fact that Vegeta was appearing to be so calm about everything was starting to freak her out. She knew that her husband was upset and this lack of emotion was just not like him. She was really scared this time.

And once again, he watched those soft blue eyes well up with tears, which began overflow down her face in tiny rivulets. Without saying a word, he walked up to her and he gently put his hand up to her cheek and he felt the warmth of her tears on his fingers. And he watched the woman watch him as he put his finger in his mouth to taste the saltiness of her tears. Then he slowly bent down until his lips brushed her cheek. But he didn't hold her or touch her any further.

He held back his rage and suppressed his power level with all the strength he had had and then he glanced up at Yamcha. 'Good, he knows I'm toying with her', Vegeta thought to himself. And even though the smell and taste of Yamcha on his wife sickened him, Vegeta cupped her chin in his hand and softly kissed her. And when she began to relax and let her defenses down somewhat, he looked down into her soft blue eyes and smiled. And yet the onyx colored eyes that glared back at her were stone cold.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry", Bulma sobbed. "Thank you for not hating me!"

"Woman, dry your tears. There, there, don't cry." And he patted her on the head. 

"And now, I've got a little surprise in store for you!" he said with sarcasm dripping off of him.

"A surprise?!" Bulma answered with a sense of panic beginning to rise up inside of her.

"Yes woman, a surprise. And you're just going to love it, too. Let me tell you what is what Vegeta is going to do to reward his wife for her loving behavior." And he walked up and put his arm around Bulma's shoulder and gave her a tight, side to side sort of hug as he started walking her over to the door.

"I am going to walk through that door right now and am going to go out and fuck the living shit out of the first thing that moves, male or female, I really don't care! Do you understand me, woman? I plan to have the time of my life with _someone….other….than…. you_! I plan to fuck it repeatedly until it simply cannot move and then I plan _start….all….over…..again! How do you like that?! Well, woman? Do you like that? Answer me! How does that feel to you?!_" 

"I love you, Vegeta. I made a horrible mistake today, okay?. Regardless of what you think, it only happened once. I will never even speak to Yamcha again. Please Vegeta, don't go. Are you the only person in the entire universe who has never made a horrible mistake? Please Vegeta, _don't….do….this_."

He was simply too angry. He had to calm himself down, and he struggled to regain control. Never before had he felt this type of pain and he didn't like it. He was after the sweet taste of revenge. Yet, he knew she was crying and he knew she was right. He too had made many horrible mistakes in his life. And he knew that as long as he didn't turn around and look at her, he would be able to make it out of the door. But, if by chance his wife, his mate, who in spite of what just happened was still the woman of his dreams were to walk around in front of him right now, he didn't think he would be able to walk out of door.

"_Everybody deserves a second chance, Vegeta…."*_

And he lingered there for a moment, almost hoping she would instinctively know the power she held over him at that very moment in time, but she didn't. And with that, the warrior turned and walked out the front door.

And rather than going out immediately to "hunt" for someone to ravage, he chose to go to his quiet place instead. At least here, he didn't run the risk of meeting anyone until he was ready to. And he now faced somewhat of an enigma. In all of his life, the woman was the only living soul he had ever made love with. And as much as he thought he wanted revenge, and as much as he wanted to hurt and humiliate her the way she just hurt and humiliated him, no one else in his life had ever electrified him to that point where passion overtakes reason. The woman was, and always would be, the only object of his desire.

He remembered vividly the first time he smelled the scent her body's womanly desire way back on the Planet Namek, and it had electrified him. Saiyan men have a slightly different genetic makeup than human men and it was almost as though she marked him somehow. And he realized that in spite of himself, he belonged to this woman and it never occurred to him that she would have no desire to be his and his alone anymore. Perhaps he should just go and destroy the object of her passion.. 'Yes, maybe destroying Yamcha might be just the therapy I need.' Vegeta thought to himself. 

"But first, maybe I should sample a piece of his tight little ass to see just what all the fuss is about!' he said to himself out loud. Vegeta then realized that he had never seriously thought about intimacy with a man before either. Not that he would be opposed to it, but no human man had ever appealed to his senses either. Vegeta realized that Kakarrot was the only male that could ever come close to having the strength required to electrify him in that manner, and Kakarrot was dead. And since he hated Kakarrot, that wasn't really an option either. But then again, the dead warrior _was_ coming back to fight in the Marshall Arts Tournament in a little over a month and Vegeta realized that the excitement and release he felt from fighting Kakarrot so many years ago was no so far away the excitement and release he felt while making love with Bulma. 'Just stop it Vegeta', he thought to himself. 'Me and Kakarrot! That's pathetic'.

He simply could not believe how this day had turned out and he was too drained to do much about it. He determined to get a good night's sleep and deal with things tomorrow. At least the woman would be thinking he was out being unfaithful and for now, that in and of itself, was good enough for him. 

'What a waste of a good pair of leather pants', he thought to himself as he rested against a tree.

And in the morning, he determined to go home and tell her the truth. Regardless of her behavior, she was still the woman of his dreams - her, and her alone. 

"_Everybody deserves a second chance, Vegeta…."*_

Goku

* DragonBallZ, episode 71, _The End of Vegeta. _Funimation Productions


	6. The Setup

__

"No one touches what is mine and gets away with it,

no one."*

Vegeta (Movie 7)

Try as he might, sleep just wouldn't come for Vegeta. Each time he closed his eyes, his mind would be flooded with the images and sounds coming from that bedroom earlier in the day. And he didn't like it. Rage was once again beginning to swell up inside of the proud Prince. And to add to his growing discomfort level, he realized that the 'cloud' egg rolls he and his son had devoured earlier in the day had not gone very far to satisfy his growing and urgent sense of hunger.

Still sitting on the ground with his back up against the tree, his eyes popped open.

'Maybe I should have just blasted the both of them into oblivion right then and there and gotten it over with', he thought to himself. 

"And maybe, just maybe, this pair of hot leather pants should not go to waste after all," he said with that sarcastic, half grin on his face that only Vegeta could smile. 

He had chosen that black leather garment in particular because his mate loved how he looked in it. He could always tell that because her scent would escalate whenever he wore it and, that in and of itself would totally electrify him. The result would be almost always be a night of wild, passionate abandon with her. And if this garment produced that effect in his mate, he saw no reason why it wouldn't work for other females as well.

He determined to go and at least check out the females in the city. Surely, there would be at least one there that would appeal to his senses. And with that, he sprang to his feet, took to flight and headed into town. However, the first item on his agenda was food. Fucking would have to come second.

As he flew over the city, he spotted a section of town that was well light, and since there appeared to be a lot of activity, he was certain he would be able to find something to eat. Vegeta hated the gaudiness of any city late at night and this part of town was new to him. The sidewalk was filled with people coming and going and the streets were packed with air cars. And he realized as he looked around that even though he himself was an alien, the human figures hustling around him seemed as though they were the ones from another planet.

'This must be boys night out!' he chuckled to himself as he realized that most of the figures walking around him were either men alone, or men with other men. 

Vegeta also realized just how beautiful Bulma was because some of those unfortunate men were walking around with the absolutely ugliest females he had ever seen! There just was no way any of these females could even come close to building any level of passion in him. Actually, they seemed to be destroying the passion in him, and his normal manly curve, set off so well in the black leather garment, suddenly decided to go into hiding.

"Well, this won't do", he snorted as he stopped walking and looked down at himself.

"Shit!"

"What's the matter, baby? Daddy got a boo-boo?" 

He glanced up to see a towering female strut toward him. She was ridiculously dressed in a frilly white shirt, a short red skirt, high platform shoes, and black fishnet stockings, and she so totally disgusting to him, that he feared for a moment that his body might never wish to come out of hiding again. And he didn't blame it, either!

"Get away from me, woman! And I call you that in the loosest of all possible terms".

"My, my. Daddy sure is cranky tonight". And with that, she walked away.

As he looked back at her, he realized that the short skirt she was parading around did nothing to hide the hair covering her thick, unshapely legs. A sudden shudder ran through his body.

And to add to his growing frustration level, the restaurants in the area were already closed due the lateness of the evening. So he continued to walk and search until he spotted a flashing neon sign above an establishment that indicated to him food would be available.

"Hey, leather boy! Nice ass - wooohooo! Let's swing around and pick you up, sweet cheeks! Oh yeah baby, wanna nibble on my foot long candy cane?" and the men in the car made several strange gestures with their hands as they slowly drove by.

"What! Leather boy! Nice ass? Candy cane?"

'How bizarre these humans can be', he thought to himself. 

And for an instant, he toyed with the idea of simply blowing the whole lot of them up. 

He reached the doorway to the establishment that promised food, and as he entered, he felt as though he had just stepped into yet another world. Music was pulsating through the area at a deafening level, strobe lights flashed at a dizzying pace, and thick, heavy smoke of various types filled the air. He turned right around and walked out. 

It had been nearly 48 hours since he had last eaten, and since he didn't want to go to back to Capsule Corporation just yet, the only other place he could think to go was ChiChi's house. It was quiet and her kitchen was always full of wonderful food. Besides, his son was there. And since she never locked any of the doors, getting in and getting back out undetected would be an easy feat.

After having his fill and washing the dishes, he left ChiChi a note saying he would replace the food when he picked Trunks up in the next few days. And before he turned to leave to go back to the quiet place, he decided to go up and glance at Trunks who was sleeping upstairs with Goten. 

He stood beside the bed where the two boys lay sleeping and he watched them for a few moments, Then, in an unexpected gesture, reached out and brushed the lavender hair from his son's eyes. And standing there, he realized that he had never before kissed his son as he had seen other fathers do. Somehow, at that moment in time, it felt right to him to do so and since everyone was asleep, no one would ever know that he was capable of such tenderness. So there, in the dark solitude of the bedroom of Kakarrot's youngest son, the proud Prince bent down and lightly kissed his son on the forehead. 

"I love you, Trunks", he whispered out loud to the sleeping child.

"I love you too, Poppa", came back the sleepy reply. Startled, he had no idea his son was such a light sleeper.

"Poppa, what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you, Trunks. Now go back to sleep". 

"Stay here with me, okay".

"Trunks, there's no place for me to sleep".

"Sure there is Poppa, right here". By this time, Trunks had pushed the sleeping Goten over to other side of the bed. 

"See there's lots of room. Come on, Poppa. It's okay. It'll be like a super Saiyan sleepover". 

His son was sitting upright in the bed now, and he was smiling and holding up the covers. Vegeta could see that attempting to reason with his son at this hour about the absurdity of his idea would wake everyone in the house. And he wanted to be able to leave undetected since he had no desire to talk with either ChiChi or Gohan.

"Oh, okay". Vegeta sat on the edge of the bed, removed his shoes, socks, belt, and red tank top, and lie down beside his son. And before he knew it, morning had come.

He awoke to find that he had wrapped himself so tightly around his son that the boy was almost like a little bug tucked away in a flesh and blood cocoon. Startled by the intimacy of the moment, he gently withdrew himself as to not to wake the sleeping child a second time. 

He quietly put his remaining garments back on and flew out of the open upstairs window back to Capsule Corporation.

As he entered the house, he could tell that the woman was there, and that she was there alone. He struggled to control his growing anger and determined to go to the kitchen for some breakfast and after he had eaten, go upstairs and clean up. Then he would leave again. He had no desire to see or talk to the woman right now.

The little television in the kitchen was still turned on from the day before and Vegeta figured that his wife must have been too busy to turn it off after her lover arrived. But the table that he had destroyed the day before had already been replaced. 

'I guess she couldn't wait to get rid of all traces of me', he thought to himself.

"And now for the ongoing coverage of the Gay Acknowledgement Day Parade", the TV announcer said. And Vegeta glanced over at the television only to see hoards of bizarre looking men, some dressed just like the ones he saw last night, prancing around on the TV screen. And some of them were kissing and even touching each other in intimate ways!

And in spite of his growing rage about his wife's unfaithfulness, the proud Prince couldn't help but laugh out loud as he finally realized where he was last night and what was really happening. It had just never occurred to him that certain males who desired intimacy with other males on this planet would dress themselves up in bizarre looking costumes and try to make themselves look weak!

And then another realization shot through his being.

"Hey! That disgustingly ugly female last night… why, she wasn't a woman at all! She… _she was a man_!" 

And he looked down at himself and laughed. "No wonder you went into hiding!"

And the image of this mixed up female/male person from last night drove Vegeta into the throws of uncontrollable laughter.

After he regained his composure to the point where he could breathe normally again, he looked up to see his mate standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Vegeta? Are you alright?"

"None of your damned business how I am anymore, woman!" he said looking icily at her.

"Well then, _stud_! How many people did you wind up fucking last night?" Bulma came right back with equal coldness.

"I touched no one last night woman, male or female. Now get out of my way".

And with that, he started to storm past her out of the kitchen. However, his mate was not about to let things go so quickly.

"Well why not, Vegeta? Isn't that just what you threatened to do? Are you telling me that the high and mighty _Prince of the Proud Saiyan Race _can no longer make good on a threat!" 

Silence.

"Or what's the matter, _stud_. Didn't anybody think you were sexy enough in your stupid looking black leather pants? What a joke you are, Vegeta!"

With that, Vegeta turned back around and walked back toward her, stopping just a few inches from his taunting mate. He struggled to suppress his rising anger with her. Yet, on some level he had to admire her courage with him because she knew he could destroy her in an instance and yet, right now, she wasn't afraid. She was just as enraged as he was. He liked that about her. She could fight with him and stand her ground without regard to the vast differences in their power levels. 

And he realized that she was enraged with him because she feared the worst about his behavior away from her last night. He knew that the thought of him sharing himself with someone else had hurt her badly. And he liked that in an arrogant sort of way.

"Well woman, if you really must know, my _only_ reason for remaining faithful to you last night in spite of what I threatened to do is because after I thought about it, _I realized that I am not a sleazy little whore like yooouuuu!"_

And with that he turned and started to walk away only to stop dead in his tracks one more time. 

"Oh, and you think this garment is stupid looking, do you! I look like a joke, do I? _Well, choke on this_!" 

Vegeta suddenly reached down with both hands and tore the black leather garment from his body and threw the torn pieces at her.

And as he turned to walk away yet one more time again, he stopped for a moment to look at himself, realizing he was now naked from the waist down. There he stood, wearing only his shoes and socks, black leather belt and tight red tank top, and suddenly, as though he had been hit in the stomach by an energy blast, the mother of all ideas stopped him dead in his tracks! The ultimate revenge! At first it brought a simple smirk to his face and by the time he had walked over to the staircase, he was in the throws of hysterical laughter. 

__

"No one touches what is mine and gets away with it, 

no one."*

And with that, he hurried upstairs to put his brilliant plan into action.

Yamcha stepped absent mindedly out to one of the air cars that he had been working on only to see Vegeta leaning up against with arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Hey man, Vegeta! Wow! Look, about yesterday….I'm, I'm really sorry about that, man. It was a stupid mistake that will never happen again, okay? It didn't mean a thing to me. Oh, wow, ouch! I didn't mean to make it sound like it wasn't special…Bulma's awesome, you know. Well of course you know. Oh, man! Vegeta, look….I don't want any trouble here. I hope we can be civil about this, after all…we're both adults here, right? And, well, shit happens sometimes, right? Vegeta…will you at least say something?!"

Without a word, Vegeta arrogantly strutted right up to Yamcha with deadly determination.

"You've been very bad, Yamcha!" Vegeta said seething.

"You touched something that didn't belong to you.! And you not only touched her, but you soiled her, Yamcha! Bad boy. Bad, bad boy!" Vegeta had now risen to super Saiyan.

Yamcha was so freaked he was being to hyperventilate.

"You not only soiled her, but you _fucked her!_ Do you understand me, Yamcha? You _fucked my wife_!" Vegeta now had sparks shooting out from around him.

"And you not only fucked _my wife_, Yamcha, but you _fucked her on our bed! _Do you understand what you have done? _You fucked my Bulma on the very bed where my son was born and now you… are… going….to… paaaaaaay!!!!" _And Vegeta let out a bellow that shook everything around them.

And one single, calculated punch to the gut sent Yamcha flying backward through the wall of his house and he came to rest in an unconscious heap on the living room floor.

When Yamcha awoke, he was on a small bed in a sparsely furnished hotel room. And realized he was dressed in the strangest clothes. On his feet were a pair of black platform shoes and his legs were in black fishnet panty hose. Someone had also put him in a short, red shiny skirt and topped it off with a white frilly blouse. And he touched his chest only to discover he had false breasts! And his head felt strange. His hair! What happened to his long black hair?! 

His broken ribs caused him to stumble as he made his way over to the mirror and looking up, Yamcha saw the face of a fairly attractive woman looking back at him. His hair had been spiral permed and now hung in long, wild black curls. And makeup had been expertly applied to his face. In a panic, he turned on the water to wash it off, but it wouldn't wash off!

"You know, whore, tattoos are usually permanent. You can try, but I just don't think that's going to wash off!" Yamcha spun around to see Vegeta sitting in on a chair. "Oh, and here's a sensu bean, you're going to need it, I think.

"Vegeta! What the hell….I'm going to kill you, you bastard".

And Vegeta just smiled slyly, rose to his feet, walked over to the door leading out to the hallway and opened it. 

"I'd like to see you try", Vegeta said egging Yamcha on.

And as Yamcha screamed curses and charged wildly at Vegeta, the sly warrior put part two of his plan for ultimate revenge into action.

Just as Yamcha was about to grab his adversary, the Saiyan prince let out a strange, little girl sounding squeal and went running down the hotel hallway. And it wasn't until Vegeta stopped and to pound on one of the doors that Yamcha noticed that the warrior was dressed in a really tacky, lime green, polyester leisure suit.

"Help me, oh, help me, please!" Vegeta was speaking in a weird falsetto sounding voice as he pounded his fists on the door. And then in a way that absolutely panicked Yamcha, Vegeta turned to him and smiled one of the most chillingly evil smiles Yamcha had ever seen.

"Oh, hurry, please…", Vegeta continued in the bizarre sounding voice. 

"What the hell are you doing, you bastard!" Yamcha screamed. "I don't care where we are, I going to kill you for this".

And the hotel door opened and several sets of hands reached out and pulled Yamcha in.

"Oh, my sweet, beautiful Yammi', Vegeta said turning to Yamcha, "how can you treat me this way?" 

Stunned beyond words, Yamcha watched Vegeta put on the performance of a lifetime for the three, big, burly looking men in the hotel room. And Yamcha nearly passed out as he watched Vegeta run over to one of the men and pretended to sob into his chest.

"How dare you cheat on this sweet little guy!" one of the really big men bellowed at Yamcha. "See what you've done? Now you've made him cry". 

"Yeah", the other one piped in. "And you're acting just like he said you would. It's always the pretty one's like you who act this way. You don't want him anymore, but you don't want anyone else to have him either. He's breaking up with you, do you understand? And we're not going to let you kill him or anyone else for that matter".

And then the third guy walked over to Vegeta and gave him a great big hug.

"You can go ahead on home now, little guy. And trust me, we all know that in spite of everything this whore has done to you that you still love him, so you can rest assured that we won't hurt him, okay, little man? We'll just have some fun with him for a little while."

"Oh, okay", Vegeta sniffed and dried his crocodile tears. "Goodbye, my beautiful Yammi. I'll always love you, you know. Sorry I wasn't man enough for you". 

And with that, Vegeta walked out of the door, knowing full well that if Yamcha wanted to, he had the power to kick the living shit out of those three guys ease and leave that room. Vegeta curiously waited outside of the room for a while to see what Yamcha would do. It soon became obvious to him that Yamcha had chosen to stay and play with those men. And the sounds of Vegeta's uncontrollable laughter could be heard echoing down the halls of the old hotel and out onto the street! After all, he only just had to wait until tomorrow before he could return and retrieve the video cameras that he had had installed in that old hotel room. Just one more day, Yamcha, just one more day! 

__

"No one touches what is mine and gets away with it, 

no one."*

Supremely satisfied in his own mind that Yamcha's humiliation was complete, Vegeta flew home to Capsule Corporation.

__

*Toei Productions, Movie 7- Super Battle of 3 Super Saiyans.

****

(to be continued)


	7. The Homecoming

__

"I had a dream last night…

In it, Vegeta came back"*

Bulma 

'Oh, I am just too fucking brilliant for words!' the sly warrior said to himself with smug satisfaction as he continued his journey home. He would soon launch the next part of his ultimate plan for revenge on Yamcha and he was very pleased with himself in an arrogant sort of way.

Yet, as Vegeta landed on the front lawn of Capsule Corporation, he knew that something was very wrong and the glee he felt from his victory over Yamcha was rapidly disappearing. The usually well-lit and festive house was now dark and appeared to be empty. And as he walked through the doorway, he could tell that Bulma was nowhere to be found. Neither the fragrance of her perfume nor the scent of her desire was detectable anywhere. And he headed for the kitchen when he noticed a small flickering light coming from there.

On the newly replaced kitchen table, illuminated only by several carefully placed, scented candles, was a letter pinned to a brand new pair of black leather pants that she had just bought for him. Vegeta sat down to the table, unpinned the neatly scripted, handwritten letter, and began to read.

To My Dearest Vegeta,

The first time I ever laid eyes on you, I loved you, Vegeta, and I wanted you. You were then, and you still are now, by far the most handsome man that I have ever seen. And my heart truly does belong to you, and you alone, Vegeta, always and forever.

I am so sorry I did what I did with Yamcha. I guess he caught me in a moment of weakness, one in which all I really desired from him was friendship and I was just so angry with you. You been so rough with me for a long time now, Vegeta, and you don't make love to me anymore, you fuck me. I'm the one you fuck and I'm tired of it! And as hard as this is for me to say this because I love you so much, I have decided that I don't want to be your wife anymore. It's over.

But please know, Vegeta, that I am sorry from the bottom of my heart for hurting you. 

And if you find that you can believe nothing else about our lives together, please, please believe this, ….you have touched me where no other man ever has or ever will. And what happened with Yamcha does not change that, at least not for me.

I was so hopeful this morning for us, Vegeta. I even had a dream last night that you came back to me in every sense of the word, and things were good between us again like they were in the beginning. But our conversation this morning was cruel, and I've realized that I no longer want to participate in the hurtful mind games that you and I have become so good at. I just can't do it anymore. I don't want to.

So, I have decided to say goodbye to you now, man of my dreams. I hope that at some level I've touched you as deeply as you've touched me. 

I will be out at ChiChi's with Trunks for a while. 

Love,

Bulma

'Hey! Wait a minute here' he thought to himself as he looked at the new black leather garment she had bought for him laying on the kitchen table. Then he glanced at the candles. Then he glanced at the letter again realizing she had told him where she was. And then he glanced back over at the new black leather garment, which was guaranteed to produce arousal in her whenever he wore them.

"I can play this little cat and mouse game of yours just as easily as you can!" he said as it became obvious to him that his wife still desired him but was just too proud to stay and tell him. He determined to go to ChiChi's house, gather his wife up in his arms, fly her off to the quiet place, and make love with her repeatedly until dawn. And that idea appealed to his senses, especially in light of the fact that it had been nearly 48 hours since he had been with her. 

And with his passion for her growing by the second, he rushed upstairs, and moving quickly, even for Vegeta, took a shower, shaved, brushed his teeth, splashed himself with the expensive cologne Bulma had gotten him for his birthday, found just the right shoes, socks and belt, decided against briefs, and chose the long sleeved, white silk shirt that Bulma loved to top it all off with. 

And it was only when he attempted to enclose himself in his new and frustratingly tight black leather pants that he became aware of the full extent of his arousal. Unrestrained and without confines, his manliness had matured to the fullest extent possible and it was now completely resistant to idea of being tucked away. The warrior also quickly discovered that the mere act of repositioning himself with one hand and struggling to pull the zipper with the other was only causing the problem to increase rather than diminish.

"Well, this won't do", he snorted with frustration as he looked down at himself. 

"Shit!"

And so he determined to picture in his mind being with that disgustingly ugly, mixed up female/male person from yesterday, but that just made him think about Yamcha in that old hotel room playing ride 'em cowboy with those men. And much to his dismay, the warrior soon discovered that in his current state of arousal, even that image was appealing to his senses in a sick and twisted sort of way. 

His sense of urgency to get to Bulma was growing by the second and for a brief moment in time, he toyed with the idea of disciplining his manliness right up along side the dresser with tremendous force, but he dismissed that idea quickly, as he realized it simply did not appeal to his senses.

So in a manner typical of Vegeta, he continued to try to force the issue, and it was only after zipper of his brand new, frustratingly tight, black leather pants decided to bite him viciously and without remorse that the situation came back under control. 

And after the warrior was once again able to breathe, he finished dressing, turned up the collar on the long-sleeved white silk shirt Bulma loved, found his gold watch and cuff links, turned super Saiyan and set off at break neck speed to ChiChi's house to retrieve his wife! 

Within the hour, he had landed outside on the grass in front of ChiChi's house.

And rather than stand in the front yard and simply bellow for her to come out, he chose to knock on the front door. 

"Hi ChiChi. Is my wife here"? ChiChi was so stunned by his politeness she about fell over backwards.

"Y-yes".

"May I see her, please"?

"Bulma, there's a strange man here to see you. You better get down here right away!"

And as Bulma came running downstairs, she could hardly believe that it was really Vegeta standing at the front door.

"Bulma, would you come outside and speak with me a moment?"

"Sure, I guess…."

As soon as she stepped outside, Vegeta gathered her up in his arms and flew her off to the quiet place. And all the way there, his wife angrily protested and demanded to be taken back to ChiChi's house. And it wasn't until he had almost arrived at the quiet place that he realized he did not detect the scent of her body's desire. The proud Prince then knew that the woman was not merely playing games with him as he had thought earlier. She was deadly serious this time, and he knew that she was closing herself off to him.

"Bulma, seven years ago on this very spot, I claimed you for my mate. I told you that you would cook for me, and I also told you that your body would be mine whenever I wanted it".

"In your dreams Vegeta! Who do you think you are? Do you still think you own me? Well think again, you big jerk! It's over, Vegeta! Don't you understand? I don't want you anymore! I can't stand how high and mighty you are with your threats about fucking this and fucking that. How dare you talk about '_making love' _with me, Vegeta! I'm the one you fuck. You don't care about me, you don't wait for me, and you don't even ask me anymore. I'm sick of you Vegeta! Now take me back to ChiChi's before I scratch your eyes out". And with that, she turned her back to him and began to weep.

"Bulma…."

"Shut up, Vegeta. I don't want to be here with you…….!"

"No, Bulma wait. Let me finish, please". His voice was surprisingly soft with her.

"And when I am done, if you still wish to go back to ChiChi's house and never see me again, I will honor your request without question or protest". 

In spite of everything, she was still the woman of his dreams, and he was losing her, not by her death, but by her choice, and of the two, this felt far more painful to him. And he struggled to suppress the tears that were building inside of him as he decided to open his heart with her for the first time ever.

"Bulma, in the ancient times on the Planet Vegeta before Frieza, Saiyan males and females would mate for life. My people were a wild and passionate race and each loved their mate with complete abandon. And even after one of the pair would perish, the one who remained would not mate again, knowing they would both reconnect in the next dimension when the time came. And I was told this by someone who used to love me more than life itself, Bulma".

"When I first met you, you awoke that same primal, instinctive desire for mating within me which had been almost totally bred out of the Saiyan race by Frieza. It is the very same desire that as a Saiyan male, Kakarrot carries in his heart for ChiChi. She marked him when both were still little children."

"The first time I got within range of you so long ago on the Planet Namek, and even before I ever laid eyes on you, I knew you were there because my body responded with desire to your unique womanly scent. Then I saw you, and you marked me, I became your mate at that genetic level deep within my Saiyan body. I hated it, and I hated you for it, Bulma. And I fought your mark with everything in me for a long time".

"In the Saiyan society created by Frieza, my body's response to the desire I felt for you was a humiliation and a disgrace. For his own amusement, Frieza developed laws punishing anyone who even made hint at mating without his permission. And any Saiyan male who was caught allowing his body to respond to desire was publicly castrated and brutalized, and I was born into that society as a Prince, Bulma. Even after he blew my planet up, the torture continued. Please try to understand what I am telling you".

"And then, after being around you every day, I discovered that in addition to desire, I also carried love in my heart for you. And Bulma, that love overcame all sense of reason within me. I literally used to dream about you. It was maddening to me. And in my dreams I was free to love you. And I knew I could resist acting on my passion for you only so long as I did not allow myself to touch you".

"And then came that day came seven years ago when I found you unconscious on the floor. Even though I did not consent to your touch, nor did I invite it, you touched me anyway and you began to weep. And as soon as I felt the warmth of your first tear on my arm I was no longer able to control my strong desire. And my passion overcame my reason and I made love with you for the first time that afternoon".

"Bulma, seven years ago on this very spot, and many times since then, I have merely helped myself to your body without regard to your wants or your desires because my need for you is always so strong. And during those times I know now I had forgotten that your human body was not designed to take me at full force. And if you had tried to tell me that before, I am sorry that I did not hear you before now".

"I now know from your letter that I hurt your body and your heart and I am convinced that is why you allowed yourself to respond to the touch of a human male. I am sorry for my unintended cruelty with you, Bulma. I am a violent and aggressive member of a warrior race, and I am always at odds with the strength of that drive. I am a harsh, cruel, bastard of a man, and I am capable of atrocities far worse than anything you can imagine. Yet, you and Trunks see something else within me, something that is worthy of your affection. Don't you understand, Bulma? It was my son who spent the night in my arms last night, not another female, and Bulma, I kissed him. And we have watched clouds together! I am so close to trusting that something else besides destruction dwells deep within me, please don't let me go now. Help me find it".

"Bulma, right now you are standing within arms reach of me and I struggle to not reach out and just take you as I have done so many times in the past. I ache for you, and I am struggling with every ounce of my being to suppress my intense passion. 

"But Bulma, please know that my desire has become this strong only because of the love I have for you, otherwise it would not be possible to want you so badly. Each time I make love with you, my ultimate goal is always to enter your body in order to touch your heart. I have never determined to fuck you, Bulma, I would never intentionally degrade you in that fashion. And I am filled with shame over it. I will never again dishonor you in that way".

"You are not a whore, Bulma. You are the exquisite creature who gave life to my son. And I remain faithful to you because my body responds only to you. Don't you understand what I am telling you, Bulma? My body knows only you. I have allowed no other female to touch me there, ever. Only you. And regardless of what you decide here tonight, I will remain your mate even if you decide you no longer want me".

"Yet, I stand here before you and I ask you to reach out your hands and touch me there, Bulma".

"Bulma, please", he whispered, "touch me".

And he waited in silence for a responsive change in the scent of her body's womanly desire that did not come. She had closed herself to him. .

"I will return to you to ChiChi's then as I had promised".

And he could feel his onyx black eyes slowly begin to well up with tears knowing he could no longer keep her if she chose not to stay, no matter how hard he tried to hold her. He also knew that this time, he would not be able to bring her back with the dragonballs, as the woman of his dreams would not be passing into the next dimension, rather, she would be disappearing out of his life of her own accord. 

And he walked up to her, standing perfectly erect, shoulders back and with the full pride of the Saiyan prince that he was, and he allowed his tears to flow without shame or anger, and he kissed her gently as he used to do when he'd dream about her. With his fingertips, he brushed the side of her cheek, and then her hair and he could scarcely hear himself tell her goodbye over the sound of the shattering of his heart.

"Bulma" he said, still whispering to her, "I'm going to take your hand now and I am going to place it upon my body, but I will stop if you refuse". 

And with that, he reached out, took her slender hand in his, and placed it gently on that part of his body that belonged to her. And with his tears still flowing freely, he held her hand to himself and he began to move himself against it, ever so gently. And his mate began to respond to him, in spite of herself and he knew that he was beginning to electrify her by the erotic intimacy of his touch. 

"Teach me how to make love to you, Bulma. Show me what you need, please…"

And with that, the proud Prince felt the touch of his wife's other hand as she reached up and gently wiped away his tears, and he was moved beyond words. The scent of her body's womanly desire told him she was once again opening herself to him. And it electrified him.

And out there in the moonlight, and into the wee hours of the morning, the lovers repeatedly moved in harmony to a new dance, one created by the loving actions of a husband and wife discovering and rediscovering each other. And one in which a newfound expression of passion for each other overcame reason for both of them, finally allowing his to mate to love him with complete abandon. And in her abandon, she discovered a hidden and blocked passageway deep within him leading to his heart, and in the heat of her intense passion and love for him, she thrust her way through the barrier and she entered him, and she lingered there, loving him and savoring him, gentle with him at first because of his innocence, but when she could restrain her passion no more, she moved within him in a way that made him cry out from the sheer intensity of it and when his release came, he lay there in her arms and wept. She had found his heart, and he had let her.

And quietly from the next dimension, a former Saiyan Queen was being allowed to watch events as they transpired in the life of her son that night. She was wild and defiant, with flashing, onyx black eyes. And she was exquisitely beautiful with thick, black curly hair that cascaded all the way to her knees almost seeming to overwhelm her unusually tiny Saiyan stature. 

Her name was Anuhea, which in her native Saiyan tongue, meant summer mountain breeze, and everything about her lived up to that image. Anuhea was wild and warm and she was the daughter of a low level solder but King Vegeta chose her anyway because of her beauty. She had hated her husband for taking her from her from her mountain village to sit as Queen, and she hated Frieza for destroying the beauty of her people, and she had openly defied them both every chance she got during her lifetime. 

And the little Queen refused to stop showing affection to her tender young son even though Frieza ordered it so. Even at the risk of her own life, she defied him. Every chance she got, she would sneak her little boy into her chambers at night so that she could love him and laugh with him and teach him the ancient ways of their people. And she loved little Vegeta with all of her heart. He was arrogant and stubborn, and she loved the way his face would furrow when he was angry, and she loved the way he lit up all over when he laughed, and she loved the way he touched her heart when he wept. The tiny Queen had given life to the exquisite and expressive boy and she knew that she loved him enough to die for him.

And then that night came when Frieza found Queen Anuhea and her little son together in her chambers for the last time. Finally, the sadistic monster acted on his ongoing threats and ravaged her tiny little body right there in front of her son. She remembered the look of horror in little Vegeta's eyes as Frieza violated her and she remembered how he struggled not to weep when Frieza threatened to kill her if Vegeta shed just one tear or made one sound. And she tried to be quiet so her little boy would not become even more frightened, but the brutality taking place upon her and in her was just too great. Knowing she was about to cry out in pain, she whispered to her little boy that it would be okay to weep now, and she told him also of the depth of her love for him. And before little Vegeta's first sob was complete, Frieza transformed while still inside of her little body, splitting her in two. And the beautiful little Queen Anuhea, who loved her son more than life itself, was a mere 20 years old when she passed into the next dimension that night at the hands of Frieza, and her exquisite little boy was only just 5 when she disappeared out his life forever.

And what hurt her the most about that night was the look of the brilliant light of love dieing in her son's eyes. What remained was a haunting look of horror. And she had feared the worst for him, knowing that most of his heart had died right along with her that night. Not a day had gone by since she passed into the next dimension that she didn't check on her son. And she never stopped trying to speak to that brilliant light within him, urging it to feel safe enough to come back to life again. 

The exquisite little Queen's onyx black eyes welled with tears of joy as she watched Vegeta lie there, weeping in Bulma's arms. And Anuhea realized that her son was coming back that to which she always knew he could be. He was a wild and defiant and passionate man who was beginning to feel safe again in the arms of someone who loved him. And she was moved beyond words.

"It's okay to weep now, Vegeta, tears bring life, not death" she whispered out loud to him from the other world. 

"The woman found your dieing heart tonight, my son, and she has carried it back to all of us. And I think that you are beginning to trust that a single tear shed by a frightened little 5 year boy did not kill me. Tell her about us someday, baby boy." 

And in the heart of beautiful little Queen, it didn't matter that she was still a mere 20 years old and her son was now at least 15 years her senior, for he was and always would be the exquisite creature she gave life to. 

"I love you, my son", she whispered to Vegeta from the other world viewing room, "talk to you tomorrow".

And with that, the beautiful little Queen turned, and walked over to the window of other world viewing room and stood there, as she did every night, with her arms raised, and savored the breeze as it blew in on her body. And as her long black hair and flowing white gown were being tossed around joyfully in it, she imagined, as she always did during these times, that the warm breeze moving over her was actually the touch of her son embracing her, and she would always try to send her love to him on the wings of that very same breeze.

And back in the world of the living after his passion had subsided and his tears had run their full course, Vegeta looked into his mate's soft blue eyes and teasingly asked her a question she had asked him so very many times in the past. 

"Do you love me, Bulma?" 

"Husband, you are mine", she teased, mirroring his response to her all those times when she had asked him the very same question.

"But do you love me?'' he teased back, knowing she was remembering those times.

"Yes, husband, I love you, with all of my heart! Now stay right there and keep me warm". And with that they started to fall asleep in the waning moonlight. 

But as he was just about to drift off, Vegeta realized that a wild and unusually warm summer mountain breeze had moved into the area and had begun to blow over him. And as it swirled and careened through the high mountain valley of his quiet place, it seemed to almost be caressing him in a way that felt strangely familiar to him. And for the first time since he had been a small boy he knew that he would be able to talk about her. So he quietly woke Bulma up and began to tell her a story about a wild and exquisitely beautiful little Saiyan Queen who loved him more than life itself.

"You would have loved her Bulma", Vegeta began, "she was just like Trunks…….."

__

"I had a dream last night….in it, Vegeta came back".*

Bulma

__

*DragonBallZ, episode 103, _Frieza's Counterattack. _Funimation Productions

****

(to be continued)

__


	8. The Story of Anuhea

Vegeta sat quietly for a few moments with Bulma at his side, closed his eyes and began to picture in his mind all the stories his beautiful little mother, Anuhea, had told him. He tried also to gather his memories of the 5 short years he spent with her as a boy, and the proud Prince allowed his mind to drift off to a far away and distant place on the Planet Vegeta where the story of mother and son took place, the place of his beginnings in the arms of the exquisite little Saiyan Queen who loved him more than life itself. And he determined to tell the story in a way that would bring honor to her and what follows is that story.

__

****

The Story of Queen Anuhea and Prince Vegeta

At age 14, the beautiful little girl stood all of 4 feet, 8 inches tall, weighed 83 pounds, and was almost half the size she should have been for Saiyan females of that maturity. She was tiny and delicate, wild and defiant, and was exquisite, with onyx black eyes that sparkled when she was happy and flashed when she was angry. And her Saiyan parents named her Anuhea, after the wild and warm summer mountain breeze that descended down upon them the night she was born.

She was gentle and loving, yet she was arrogant and stubborn and in her defiance of the standards for the appearance of Saiyan females, the little girl refused to ever allow her hair to be cut. The result was a full head of long, wild black curls that not only cascaded down her back but also wisped around her face and flew unrestrained into her eyes when she ran. Anuhea would smile to herself as she realized that hair, like life itself, needed to be as free as the summer mountain breeze. 

So Anuhea would wear her wild and thick black curly hair parted in the middle, loosely secured up off her face in braids that she tied with tan strips of rawhide while the remainder of her hair tumbled over her shoulders down her back to her knees. And she would scent her hair with the oils from crushed lavender flowers. 

The defiant little girl also refused to allow the Saiyan warrior armor designed by Frieza to even touch her little body. It felt cold and harsh and reeked with the hate and destruction that defined Frieza. Rather, she chose to wear the traditional garments of her people from the ancient times, and she had designed her flowing, layered white gauze dresses based upon details of the stories related by the story tellers from her village. 

And the very first time the elders from her village saw her as she walked out of her hut and onto the street dressed in the traditional garments of the ancient ones, they wept. She stood there before them in her long sleeved, white gauze gown that brushed the ground, with its soft layers flowing and dancing joyfully in the breeze that blew over her. And where the gown loosely outlined her tiny hips, she had carefully sown onto it the traditional tan leather straps whose function was to loosely hold her tail in place, allowing it to drape in sensuous loops around her. 

For the first time in her young little life, Anuhea realized she was beautiful and she was moved to weep when she saw how they looked at her. They did not look upon her with desire, rather, they gazed upon her filled with the emotion of a distant recognition, making her aware of the beauty of something ancient and genetic, something deep within her Saiyan body that had just remembered itself and was awakening. And it was something that far transcended her physical beauty.

The parents of the exquisite little girl were part of a mated pair, even though her father was a low level soldier in the Saiyan army under Frieza. And while she had seen her father only just a few times in her lifetime, she cherished those times when he could sneak away to see her, knowing that he did so at the risk of his very own life. And Frieza was aware of the secluded mountain village where she and the others from her tribe lived on the Planet Vegeta, but he had left it untouched for generations. So far, the people had been of no use to him. 

And then came that afternoon in which the day was just to lovely to be spent within the confines of the village. So the tiny Anuhea had chosen to go horseback riding out to the high mountain valley where the waterfall was. She had been warned to never go that far out alone now, because her body had reached the level of maturity in which she had begun to produce her womanly scent. She ran the risk now, of arousing any unmated male within range of her. The female Saiyan warriors under Frieza's control were forced to take medications to stop their scent until Frieza was ready for one of them to be bred, so the wild freedom that Anuhea's body enjoyed could also quickly put her life in jeopardy. 

And in her innocence, Anuhea did not understand the ramifications of, or the reasons behind, their warnings. She knew Frieza and the Saiyan warriors under his command were monsters that killed and brutalized people and so, ever since she had been old enough to walk. she accumulated a variety of hiding places to keep her safe from discovery. And her experiences with the mated males in the village were that they treated their mates with gentleness and love in her hearts. The beautiful little Anuhea simply had no reason for believing a male would wish to treat her harshly if he had desire in his heart for her. 

That is, until later that afternoon when a certain Saiyan King had responded with desire to the scent of the exquisite little Anuhea and tracked it down until he found it's source. 

He stood at a distance as he watched her play and splash in the water of the waterfall, with her long white gauze gown lifted up over her knees and her long, wild black hair unrestrained, and her tail looped around and over her hips sensuously, and she took his breath away. He had never before felt such intense desire as watched the tiny Saiyan beauty frolic in that water. And as he watched her, and his body continued to respond to his desire, she marked him, and he determined to take her as his mate and have her sit as Queen regardless of what Frieza would say.

But as he continued to watch her splash around wildly and sensuously in that waterfall, her beauty and her scent became increasingly intoxicating to him, and his massive body began to throb with passion for her, and he determined to take the object of his passion to satisfy his need. And so he took Anuhea's tiny little body that afternoon, and he did so, repeatedly.

When King Vegeta was spent, he gathered the dazed, limp body of the beautiful little girl in his arms and flew her back to the palace to have her cleaned up and prepared to be introduced to Frieza as the newest Queen of the Planet Vegeta. And King Vegeta realized that he felt an attachment of sorts for his new little pet and he determined that she would be the perfect female within which to plant the future Prince of the Planet Vegeta.

Later that evening, beautiful little Anuhea awoke in a strange bed, in a strange room, with a strange, but somehow soothing, little old Saiyan matron glancing gently down at her.

"What's your name, child?"

And with that Anuhea sat straight up in the bed, noticing her torn gown and as well as the pain in her little body.

"What's your name, child?" 

"What?! _My name!_ Why should I tell you who I am? I don't know you, I don't even know where I am. The last thing I remember is that huge smelly male pig laying on top me, grunting and spitting and sweating and he was doing a horrible thing to me, old one! And when I find him _I'm going to blast him into oblivion! _No one hurts me that way and gets away with it, nobody!_" _

And with that, the ancient Saiyan matron who was assigned by King Vegeta to watch over and care for little Anuhea, just walked over to her and encased the child in her arms, and she began to rock the little girl, slowly. 

"It's okay to weep, baby girl" the old one softly told her, "tears bring life".

And with that, Anuhea began to sob, first for the violation of her body and next for the violation of her heart. This was the first time in her lifetime that she had ever experienced pain at the hands of another.

"He _hurt_ me, old one, he hurt me bad, _why_?", the exquisite little girl sobbed as the wrinkled old Saiyan matron held her and rocked her gently while Anuhea wept into the night and the wrinkled old Saiyan matron continued to hold her, finally rocking her to sleep. The old one then moved Anuhea off of her lap onto the bed, straightened the covers around her, and then she too began to weep. 

"I'm so sorry, baby girl, I'm so sorry. If you only knew….." 

The old one came back the next day to break it to the child that today was going to be coronation day. And not only tell her, but get her ready for it, and not only get her ready for it, but keep her there once she saw Frieza and King Vegeta!

But nothing could have prepared the old one for what she saw when she entered Anuhea's room that morning. The beautiful child had taken every shiny, red apple out of the basket that had been placed in her room for nourishment, placed them in a variety of strategic locations and she was standing there shooting puny little energy blasts at them. There were apple parts on the floor, on the ceiling, on the walls, on the windows, and especially on Anuhea! She had apple parts in her hair, on her torn gauze gown, and even in her eyebrows, but she continued to practice those blasts with deadly determination!

"What are you doing child!" the old one sputtered, "I'm the one who has to clean this mess up!"

"I told you last night, I don't know who he is, but when I find him, _I'm going to blast him into oblivion!!!"_

And even though she did not think it was possible in light of the current circumstances, the old one chuckled. 

"Baby girl, look around you", the old one had said. "You certainly have enough power to dismember them, but as you can see, these ruthless red warrior apples are nowhere even close to oblivion! In time, you and I will practice together. But now you must hurry and get ready, you have a big party to go to! And be a good little girl and just get dressed"

"What? Good little girl?! Old one, I'd blast you right now if I knew it wouldn't tickle you!"

And with that, the two of them, one young, and exquisitely beautiful inside and out, and the other, ancient and wrinkled on the outside but absolutely exquisite on the inside, became friends that day. 

The old one decided to tell the child where she was and what was going to happen to her that day in the royal courtyard of King Vegeta's palace. The old one told the tiny little Anuhea that on this very day, she would become the wife of, and would reign as Queen with, the very man who had raped her.

And as the beautiful little girl wept bitterly and said she would refuse to ever do such a thing, the old one just held her, and told her that she had simply had no choice. King Vegeta and Frieza were prepared to destroy the mountain village she loved with all her heart, right along with all the Saiyan people in it, should she refuse. The old one then handed the specially tailored, white satin coronation gown to the little Anuhea and turned around, and walked out. 

And after she had finished weeping, the exquisite little future Queen of the Planet Vegeta decided to met her fate head on and when she had finished her preparations, she stepped out of the door into the hallway with her shoulders back and her head held perfectly erect, and began to walk down that hallway with the full pride of Saiyan Queen that she was about to become. And refusing to restrain her long, black curly hair, it cascaded wildly and loosely down her back to her knees almost seeming to overwhelm her tiny frame. She refused to even restrain it with braids this time, and she wove in several strands of tan rawhide strips into her curls and used them to secure several of the perfect white lilies from her room into her wild, long black hair. And she had lifted her hair off of her head with her fingers so that when she was done, curly fringes stood up and away from her face in wild shooting spiky fullness.

And rather than wrap her tail tightly around her waist, she had torn the white satin coronation gown so that tiny strips of cloth held her tail in place, allowing it to hang in sensuous loops around her hips, wearing it in the ancient tradition. She also chose not to wear the traditional shoes that accompanied the gown, and went her coronation barefoot.

She determined that she would do what they wanted because she loved her home and her family more than life itself, but she promised herself that they would clearly know of her hatred for them. They could take her body if that was their choice but they would never be able to take her heart. The love in her was just too strong for that. And she knew then that no matter what happened, she would always be like the summer mountain breeze she was named after, and just like that breeze, it would be impossible for them to contain or restrain her. No matter what happened from that moment forward, she knew she would hold on to that image, always. And with that, she stepped into the courtyard of King Vegeta's palace, into her new life, and into the very presence of evil itself.

As soon as she opened the double doors, the music began and the presence and attitude of the wild and exquisitely beautiful Anuhea defied her tiny stature. And she could feel the eyes of the males feeding upon her as they desired her, and she knew that they looked at her with dishonor for her in their hearts. And she felt violated. And some of them had openly allowed their bodies to swell in front of her as they stood in her presence as she passed by them.

Little Anuhea closely held on to that memory of the way the elders from her mountain village had looked upon her in newly sown white gauze gown, clinging to that initial awareness of her beauty as she saw it reflected back to her in their eyes. And she knew that as long as she continued to see herself through their eyes, she would be okay. Yet her humiliation was great, and silent and almost unnoticeable tears began to roll down her cheeks as she continued her long walk, with head held high, to King Vegeta and Frieza.

And she saw the shock in King Vegeta's eyes over her openly defiant appearance and so she played him against his desire for her, and he allowed her to continue and be crowned just as she was. The exquisite little Anuhea knew also that she needed to make eye contact with Frieza and with a single glance make her stand against him. But she when she looked into his icy eyes for the first time she was not prepared for the absolute evil that looked back at her as though he was devouring her at that very moment. And so, the wild and exquisitely beautiful new Queen glanced at her new husband with a false look of desire and then looked right back at Frieza in a way that told him that even though she hated the King he was still the better choice. And she took her place at King Vegeta's side in silence and throughout that celebration, she maintained her posture in her mind as a Saiyan Queen of the ancient ways.

For the next several months, the tiny Queen Anuhea was forced to share the King's chambers with him and she could almost survive it if she didn't have to look at him. And when he would be on top of her grunting and sweating and pounding, she would imagine in her mind that she was out soaring over her beautiful mountain village, riding on the wings of a wild and warm summer mountain breeze. It had even begun to amuse her that after the King had satisfied himself on her, he wouldn't even know that she had been gone, and in her mind she would belittle him for being so stupid. 

And then came the day when Anuhea realized that a tiny life had begun to grow deep within her own tiny body and she was filled with a love the depth of which she had never known before and she knew, without knowing how she knew, that she carried within her a baby boy. From that day forward, she knew also that somehow that tiny little life growing within her was the fulfillment of that which the elders recognized within her that day in the village. 

A Super Saiyan had not been born into the Saiyan society since Frieza began to tamper with and destroy the natural, instinctive, and genetic mating patterns of her people from generations ago. And the tiny little Anuhea suddenly realized that that had been Frieza's goal all along, to bred out of her people the strength of the super Saiyan, knowing he could not stand against it. She knew that the child growing within her would be a super Saiyan one day, and would take his place with the legendary warriors of old. Then she realized with great joy that if it was happening in her life, it must be happening in the lives of others as well, and in time her people would rise up and destroy Frieza. One day they would all be free again. 

And now since she was with child, Anuhea was overjoyed to discover that the King was no longer allowed to touch her in accord with Frieza's laws on Saiyan mating. She was moved into her own chambers away from him. After the upcoming birth of her son, the little Queen would be surgically altered, rendering her unable to receive a male without great injury to her body. It was Frieza's way of toying with the King while allowing him to live openly as a mated pair, a privilege few Saiyan males and females enjoyed any longer in the Saiyan society created by Frieza.

From that day forward, Anuhea would talk to the child growing within her and would tell him of the depth of the love in her heart for him. She and the old one, who was Anuhea's only friend, would take the tiny unborn baby boy for long walks in the sunshine and they would talk and laugh, but Anuhea would usually wind up weeping because she missed her mountain home so much. And then one day quite by accident, when she and the old one were out walking, they had wandered into a high mountain valley not fair from the palace. It was a warm and calming place, and she loved that it reminded her so much of her mountain village. From that point forward, the three of them, the old one, Anuhea, and her unborn son, would journey to the quiet place every chance they got. Every time they would arrive, the tiny baby boy within her would seem to leap with joy. 

But nothing could have prepared her for the day her exquisite little boy was born, nothing. Because the pain she endured when they took little Vegeta from her before she could even hold him in her arms was beyond what she could bear. The exquisite little mother wept and pleaded with them to please not take her baby away from her, to please talk to the King first, because it had to be some type of mistake. But it was no mistake as Frieza had ordered it so to break the bond between mother and son, which he felt to be a dangerous thing. The wet nurse who had been prepared to care for the brand new little prince took him roughly in her arms and he began to weep from the moment she first touched him. And they smugly told the devastated little Anuhea that her presence in his life was no longer required. And in an instant, that exquisite little creature who she loved more than life itself, was gone. 

And from that time on, in spite of her resolve to stay strong no matter what, the heartbroken little Queen slumped into a deep depression, and she refused to eat or move from her room, and she refused even to speak to the old one. 

And just when she was on the brink of death, her exquisite baby boy she was returned to her one morning for her to take of for time. From the moment they had taken him from her, her tiny son had refused to allow anyone else to care for him and was inconsolable, and he rejected the wet nurse, refusing to nurse from her, until he too, was on the brink of death. 

And together, the exquisite little mother and her tiny little son wept together, rediscovering each other, reconnecting and giving life back to each other. And on that morning for the first time since his birth, the beautiful little Anuhea was able to hold her son to her tiny breast and nurse him. And as she gazed down her son and felt him nestle into her, falling into a contented sleep for the first time in his life, she determined to never let him go again, no matter what she might have to face in the future knowing she loved him more than live itself.

And so one day she went to King Vegeta and got down on her knees in front of him, and without permission simply laid her head on his lap and allowed her tears to spill over onto him and weeping until she could scarcely breathe, she looked up into his eyes and asked that her baby boy please never be taken from her again. And in a manner uncharacteristic for the King, he reached down and touched her hair and realizing he still carried an attachment in his heart for her, he granted her request, in spite of what Frieza would say. 

The tiny prince Vegeta grew quickly and at age 1, he was moved from the Queen's chambers to one of his own just down the hall from her. And at age 2, his formal Saiyan training to become a warrior and a Prince began, and by the time he turned 3, a high-ranking soldier in the King's army named Napa had been assigned to be trainer and bodyguard to the Prince. 

The exquisite little Queen Anuhea's heart would simply sing with pride as she would watch little Vegeta, who at age 4, would already order the towering Napa around with great authority. The pint-sized Prince made it very clear to the warriors around him that he was indeed the Prince Vegeta and that he was in charge. And the tiny little Queen laughed until she cried one day when she heard an enraged little Vegeta yell at Napa.

'Napa!', he had said, _'don't make me mad or I'll blast you into obivelin',_ And he had his little had raised with deadly seriousness to form an energy blast.

So Anuhea worked with the Prince on the correct way to say the word, oblivion, as they made their way up to the high mountain valley of their quiet place. The quiet place was where the exquisite little Queen would tell her son all about the legendary super Saiyans of old. And she would tell him that she believed that he was indeed one of those warriors because he was born from a long bloodline of Saiyan people who practiced the ancient ways, who did not allow Frieza to interfere with the natural genetic design of their bodies. She told him also that she believed there were others out there as well and that his offspring would also be born with the ability to transform. The tiny prince, who was rapidly approaching the age of 5, and who was less than half the size he should have been for a Saiyan boy of his age, would listen intently to her stories. But as always, he was impatient to show her some new technique that he had learned that day. And that was the last time they were alone together in the quiet place.

Later that night, when the beautiful little Queen entered her chambers she found Frieza standing there waiting for her. He told her that he was revoking her privilege of seeing her son because she was filling his head with dangerous notions and making him weak. And he told her that should she defy him he would kill her, and then he told her that he would probably kill her anyway because he no longer wished to allow her defiance of the last five years to go unpunished. The monster said he was telling her these things because he wanted her to live for time with the fact that her death was eminent.

And in direct defiance of Frieza, the wild little Queen Anuhea snuck her son into her chambers that night and many nights after that, always telling him the depth of her love for him. Knowing there was nothing King Vegeta could do to stop Frieza, she began to prepare her son for a life without her, telling him it was only a matter of time until Frieza took her life. The little Queen told her son that Frieza had had it in his heart to harm her the from the first time he had ever laid eyes on her. 

So she would tell little Vegeta that she loved him more than life itself and that she did not fear passing into the next dimension. And he would weep in her arms and would vow to her that one day he would become the strongest super Saiyan alive, second to none, and he would destroy Frieza for what he was about to do to her. Anuhea would simply hold him, tearfully whispering to him to not be afraid when that time came because she would check on him always from the other world. And she promised him that every day they were apart, she would send her love to him on the wings of a wild and warm summer mountain breeze so that he would not feel so alone after she was gone. And with tears still overflowing from her onyx black eyes, she asked her son to remember always to be a warrior in accord with the ancient ways of their people, who were wild and fierce and passionate, who lived in love openly, and who wept freely. And she asked him to not allow himself to be seduced by the violence around him. Little Vegeta's onyx black eyes also welled up with tears as he promised her that he would never be like Frieza or the King. 

Then the exquisite little Queen embraced her son for the last time ever, told him again of the depth of her love for him, and then told him that the time had come because death was standing right outside her door. And she stood bravely, and in her final act of defiance, determined to met her fate head on, knowing that he could break her tiny little body but that he could never destroy her heart. She was, and had always been, beyond Frieza's reach. And as the door to her chambers was violently shattered from the outside in, she whispered goodbye to the exquisite little creature that she had given life to and asked him to remember her, always.

And so that night had finally come when Frieza acted on his hatred for the exquisite little Queen and he ravaged her tiny little body and killed her right there in front of her son. And the beautiful little Queen Anuhea, who loved her son more than life itself, was a mere 20 years old when she passed into the next dimension that night at the hands of Frieza, and her exquisite little boy was only just 5 when she disappeared out his life forever.

And not one day had passed since she entered the next dimension that Anuhea did not check on her son, and she would send, each day, her love to him on the wings of a wild and warm summer mountain breeze.

***

And when Vegeta had completed the telling of his story of the beautiful little Anuhea, leaning back on his elbows, he opened his eyes to see the bright morning sun shining on his face, drying the wetness of his tears. As he thought about his own son, he came to a clearer understanding of the depth of his love for Trunks, and he was overwhelmed to think that someone like him had contributed to the life of that exquisite lavender haired creature. And when the proud Prince remembered what it felt like to see that look of love in son's eyes, he realized that is how Anuhea must have felt when he looked at her all those years ago. And Vegeta knew then that he loved his son more than life itself, just as Anuhea had loved him. 

And with that, he looked down to see his wife lying across his outstretched legs, and she had fallen asleep while embracing his waist and weeping gently on his lap . And he loved her.

But, as he continued to watch her, he realized that his extremely beautiful wife was still without garments, and not only was she without garments, she was lying there in that fashion with her cheek nestled against the most intimate part of his body, which was exposed to the world as well. And an idea was beginning to occur to him that was appealing to his senses greatly and one, if his beautiful wife was willing, would be yet another first in his life. And smiling slyly, he stroked her soft blue hair until she woke up.

"Woman," he said as he smiled down at her, "your tears have created a lake upon a very intimate part of my body and I am asking you now, in no uncertain terms, just how it is you plan to dry me off?"

And with that, the husband and wife lingered for a few hours more in the high mountain valley of the quiet place, and when their passion had run its course, they returned home to Capsule Corporation. The first thing Vegeta did was to blast the remains of their former bedroom into oblivion to make room for the new construction scheduled to begin on that part of the house the very next day.

And several days later when Yamcha finally arrived back at his home, he found a lime green, flowered stationery envelope pinned to his front door. As he removed it, he realized that it had been scented with a subtle perfume and his name was scrolled across the front in tiny, perfectly formed, handwritten letters.

'Oh man', Yamcha thought to himself, 'if this is from another chick, I just don't have it in me right now!'. 

But then, as he held the envelope up to nose and sniffed it again, he realized it had a familiar fragrance. Bulma! This had to be from Bulma. 

"Oh man, Vegeta!" Yamcha gloated. "Your wife wants me again. Woohoo. I'm going to fuck her again Vegeta, and there isn't one single thing you can do about it! But, I just gotta figure out how to get this stuff off my face first. Ooookayyyy. Lets open this baby up and see what the game plan is!" 

And with that, Yamcha opened the carefully scripted, flowery lime green scented envelope that smelled like Bulma. 

__

To My Beautiful Yammi……..

__

I have just one simple question to ask you, my sleazy, little whore, and I seek to invade your privacy only because I have several wagers in process… Which of you, my love, was seme? 

Oh well, since you are probably too much of a lady to ever kiss and tell, I guess I will just have to patiently wait until the film is developed to find out for myself, won't I Yammi? 

Oh, and if you must know, your unfaithfulness simply broke my heart and I just had to blast that lime green polyester leisure suit you loved so, right into oblivion. 

See you soon, Yammi!

Love,

V

And with that, Yamcha fell backwards right off his high, black platform shoes and lost consciousness, and the hills surrounding Yamcha's house resounded with the sounds of Vegeta's uncontrollable laughter which were being carried through the countryside on the wings of a wild and warm summer mountain breeze which had just begun to descend upon the area where the proud Prince stood. 

__ ****

(to be continued)

__


	9. The Sacrifice, Part One

Authors Note: This chapter contains a scene of aggression and violence, which while not overly graphic, might be disturbing to some.

__

"I wanted to be like I used to be.

I wanted to fight you as a cold-hearted, single-minded Saiyan*.

Vegeta 

Goku had surprised everyone by arriving completely unannounced the afternoon before the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament. The Grand Kai wanted to give him the gift of time because of his heroic achievements. So, Goku was granted the privilege of returning to the land of the living to visit with family and friends for the afternoon. And then he would have to return to the other world for the night, only to return the next day to fight in the tournament. 

After everyone had arrived at his little country house, including Vegeta and Bulma, Goku simply could not stand Vegeta's grumpy seriousness any longer and attempted to poke some fun at him to get the warrior to loosen up a little bit.

"Hey Vegeta" Goku chided, "I think married life agrees with you. You're getting those soft little love handles Bulma likes so much!"

And Vegeta stopped trying to stare the paint off the walls, which he determined to be more stimulating than the ridiculous party going on around him, and looked up at Goku with his onyx black eyes flashing as though he had heard the epitome of stupidity itself give utterance to the spoken word. Then he glanced at his hands, then at his feet and legs, then at that part of himself that belonged to Bulma, then his abdomen and finally his shoulders. And confused, he looked over at Bulma.

"What? Love handles! Woman, just what the hell are love handles! And why would mine, whatever they are, be soft and little?" And he had asked her with all seriousness. Because if something about his body had changed do to his marriage to her to the point of becoming obvious to the likes of Kakarrot, he was determined to discover what that change was since it seemed to be becoming a source of amusement. 

And finding Vegeta's responses to his teasing to be absolutely hilarious, Goku got a serious case of the giggles, which, when he thought about how silly Vegeta looked searching his body for his love handles soon developed into full blown laughter, and with that, Goku's laughter quickly escalated to the bending over, holding the gut, and rolling on the floor, type of hysterics. And soon everyone was laughing, even Bulma, and they were complete unaware of what was transpiring in the heart and mind of the proud Prince.

"_Stop laughing!"_

Goku was about to hyperventilate he was laughing so hard, and he suddenly threw his arms around Bulma and they laughed together like they had in the old days. 

And everyone was so busy laughing and having a good time at Vegeta's expense that no one even noticed that Vegeta was no longer in the kitchen. But the sound of a front door slamming so violently that it promptly shattered right off of it's hinges gave the merry mob at least some indication that the proud Prince was not very happy. So, still in a teasing mood, they all went outside in a group to see if they could tickle his fancy and get him to lighten up some and come back inside.

"Oh come on Vegeta, we were only teasing you. You're in great shape. Look" Goku said flexing his left arm because the right one was still around Bulma, "I bet you could almost beat me at arm wrestling, come on, Vegeta, even Bulma here could beat me at arm wrestling. I'll _let_ you beat me at arm wrestling if you come back inside. What do say? Pleeaase? I'll put sugar on it for you!" 

And with that, gleeful giggles broke out among the slaphappy little horde of hellions once again. 

But Vegeta continued to stand with his back turned to all of them. And he was deeply humiliated by their ridicule of him, which seemed to escalate whenever Kakarrot was around. He had simply had enough and would no longer tolerate it. He stood there waiting only to see if his wife would do the honorable thing and come stand at his side, defiantly displaying her sense of pride in him, and indicating to the others that she would not allow her mate to be made a fool of. But yet, he doubted that she would join him, as her loyalties had always been torn between him and Kakarrot. And so he lingered there a short while longer, standing with the full pride of the Saiyan Prince that he was, head held high, shoulders back and arms crossed over his chest. And it became obvious to him that the mere presence of Kakarrot in her life caused him to become second, even to her. 

"Shut up, Kakarrot! The very sound of your voice sickens me! You have made me an object of ridicule in the eyes of my wife and you will not get away with it!" and the sound of the rage in his voice was chilling.

And at first he thought he might leave without Bulma, but he hesitated for moment, and as he turned to tell her he was taking her home immediately, he was shocked to see his wife openly defying him by allowing Kakarrot to place his hands upon her. And it was on display for everyone to see! 

"It is clear to me now, Bulma, that you spoke what was truly in your heart when you said I was a joke to you. So stay here with him and continue to laugh at me as long as you like. I no longer care what you do". 

And with that, Vegeta took to flight, Bulma began to cry, everyone looked at each other trying to figure out what just happened, and Goku decided to take off after Vegeta to try to talk some sense into him. 

As he followed Vegeta, it became obvious that Vegeta was leading him out to the very spot where they had first fought all those years ago. And Vegeta's rising power levels indicated to Goku that the warrior was preparing for battle and the only two remaining, full-blooded Saiyan males in the universe were completely unaware of the ancient and primal dance that they had already set in motion by the symbolism of their actions that afternoon.

He truly wanted Vegeta to regain his sense of pride and no longer feel second to him as a fighter, and so Goku decided to fight Vegeta with his power levels suppressed at just that point where Vegeta could overtake him without realizing he was being toyed with. And with that, Goku landed in front of the warrior and attempted to mentally prepare himself to endure the beating of a lifetime. 

"Kakarrot, do you know the depth of the hatred I carry for you? And do you know how _long I have carried it?" _

And with that, Goku's entire posture changed, and he found something inside of himself growing uncharacteristically angry and agitated, and he was stunned at how quickly and intensely it was escalating. And he attempted to blow it off, thinking he was just picking up on Vegeta's negative energy. But it was clear to both warriors as their battle began, that there was something different about the energy that was rising up in both of them. 

Almost immediately with the first attack, the two Saiyan males were locked into a brutal and violent assault on each other, and both found that they were being driven by urges that were foreign to them, urges that literally pulsated through them, blinding them to their sense of reason. 

The Saiyan dance that that the two remaining full-blooded warriors had begun was as old as time itself, but they were unaware of it, as there was no one left from their culture who could tell them about it, and it was specific only to ascended warriors and beyond. In the ancient days when the Saiyan race was still in it's infancy, males transformed to Super Saiyan with ease, and during those early times, dire circumstances would sometimes threaten the Saiyan people with extinction, and the need for dominant males had emerged to produce strong offspring and to protect the females and children. In time, the strongest of the males developed the ability to transform into a heightened form of themselves and they would use that transformed state to maintain or even achieve the position as dominant male, and the defeated challenger would forced to into a humiliating submission. In time, as the society advanced, while sometimes those instinctive drives would surface between certain warriors, they were taught how to control them and redirect them, and after a while, when Super Saiyans stopped appearing altogether due to Frieza's tampering, the need to address this ancient issue disappeared altogether. 

But now, the only two Saiyans males left in universe, both of whom could transform even beyond that of Super Saiyan, one of whom had started the humiliation process on the other and then challenged him by openly touching his mate, and then pursued him to the battlefield, had both launched themselves into this ancient and brutal Saiyan dance, one in which their reason would soon be lost to a raging insanity. And in a manner that would prove to be truly tragic, there was no one around from the ancient days to warn them to turn around now, and stop before it was too late. And the reason the dance began at all was because Bulma, who was clearly the dominant female in the group, was now openly Vegeta's mate. And while Goku remained devoted to ChiChi, a part of him was very attached to Bulma due to their long history together, and in a way that wasn't even sexual really, he had always considered her to be his as well. 

And as they continued to battle, and in spite of the intense sensations surging through his body and his mind, Goku struggled to maintain his resolve not to overpower Vegeta. He had told no one yet that while training in the other world, he had transcended yet another barrier and could now transform to SSJ3, and he knew that at that level, he could overpower Vegeta in an instant, and he knew that he should stop this insanity right now before it truly got out of hand but he did not, because he found himself becoming increasingly seduced by the intensity of the experience. And the fact that Vegeta was now fighting with a heightened level of intensity and was becoming increasingly dangerous made it clear to Goku that Vegeta was experiencing the very same thing. And the unfamiliar intensity of the urges that were surging through his body were beginning to drive him to completely overpower Vegeta, and dominate him and humiliate him in accord with the primal instincts that were drowning out his sense of reason.

When Goku increased his power level to the fullest extent while struggling to stay contained in level 2, he attacked Vegeta viciously and he found that the stunned look in the warrior's eyes only heightened his growing sense of arousal.

And their dance was not about passion or desire, not as a human male would think about it, rather, both were fighting a deadly battle for dominance. And one in which Vegeta was certain to lose if Goku stayed at full power in SSJ2, because Vegeta had yet to achieve that level. It was only when Vegeta attacked, biting viciously and tearing a chunk of flesh from his arm, that Goku fully embraced the madness, and transformed, in accord with that ancient Saiyan dance, into that raging beast within himself.

Goku had now completely allowed sanity and reason to slip and he grasped Vegeta and violently threw him to ground and using instant transmission, pounced on the warrior before he could fire off his energy blast. And when it became apparent to the proud Prince that the battleground was now limited to his very own body, the look in his eyes as he was being mauled while his garments were being shredded was a combination of horror and rage, and Goku found that it only intensified his arousal.

Vegeta was now powerless to stop him and he was powerless to stop himself as the man that he truly was became lost inside of sea of swirling madness, and even though Vegeta fought and raged against him in the fullness of his power, his efforts were futile, and Goku decided to toy with him for a while, each time letting Vegeta get within a inch of freeing himself only to find that he was still hopelessly trapped. And Goku, like a cat toying with mouse, decided to let the little game continue until Vegeta was not only without hope, but was exhausted as well, and when Goku felt the warrior's strength begin to drain, it was only then he stared into Vegeta's eyes and watched the warrior watch him as he suddenly flipped the proud Prince around to get him into position with such violent intensity that he nearly knocked Vegeta unconscious.

And the fact that the proud prince was now weeping as still he continued to struggle with everything in him to free himself, was like a supreme victory to the beast that used to be Goku, who was savoring the sight of Vegeta, with his face being forced into the dirt, with his arms trapped high up behind his back, and his body on display for the world to see. And as Goku began to ready himself to bring the dance to it's conclusion, Vegeta suddenly stopped struggling and the absolute change in his energy startled him, as Vegeta, using the shear force of his will was almost seeming to make his body untouchable, unreachable somehow, and it jolted Goku's madness just long enough for the man within the monster to hear Vegeta whisper 'please, Kakarrot, don't do this to me'. 

There was something about the sound of an anguish that was all too familiar in Vegeta's voice that continued to reach the man who Goku really was. And when he felt Vegeta's body begin to shake within his arms, he looked down at the Prince once again, not realizing that it was even possible to sob with such intensity and not make a sound, and all he could think as he was coming out of that ancient haze of insanity was that someone, somewhere, had violated Vegeta this way before, and Goku was filled with a sense of horror and he too began to weep.

"_Kakarrot! What the fuck are you doing!" _

And the only thing Goku could think to do at that instant, was to tell Vegeta how sorry he was. 

__

"Kakarrot! For your sake, you had better kill me before you take your bloody fucking hands off me!"

"Vegeta, I'm so sorry, it was this, _thing_….I don't know what happened. I'm going to let you go now, okay?" And deciding to take the easy way out of a very difficult situation, Goku used instant transmission the very second he released Vegeta, leaving him alone, to try yet one more time, to pick up the pieces of a shattered body. 

When Goku appeared back at his country home, he told everyone what had just happened and he begged Bulma to forgive him, which she did. But she wept for Vegeta and knowing where he would be, decided to go to him, first making a stop at home to pick up a change of clothes and some of those things he might need to clean himself up with, yet halfway to the quiet place, as she finally began to understand her husband's sense of pride, she decided that if he realized that she knew what had happened to him, it would only add to his sense of humiliation. So she decided instead to go back to Goku and ChiChi's little country house and she told everyone there to never let Vegeta know that they knew what had just happened to him. 

And with a certain amount of distain in her voice, Bulma turned to Goku and told him that he never should have said anything at all, rather, he should have resolved the issue with a silent sense of pride like her husband was doing right now. And as she was getting ready to leave, she told Goku that she would hold him responsible if any harm were to Vegeta now, because even if he didn't mean to hurt her husband, he did, and he did it in one of the worst possible ways one being could harm another, and then she decided that it might not be so easy after all to forgive him for that. And with that, she went back home to Capsule Corporation to wait for Vegeta. And in finally confronting Goku with her clear and open choice for Vegeta, she closed the door on that ancient Saiyan dance between Goku and her husband forever.

And after almost eight years of marriage, Bulma was becoming Vegeta's wife as he needed her to be, yet, unfortunately for both of them and unknown to both of them, it would a long time before they would be able to be together again. 

While in route to the quiet place, Vegeta determined that no matter what it took, he would find the power necessary to kill Kakarrot at the upcoming Marshall Arts Tournament the very next day. 

And when he landed, and the wild and warm summer mountain breeze began to blow over him, gently caressing him, he stood angrily and defiantly against it. He no longer wanted any part of it, and Vegeta suddenly found that he no longer wanted any part of anyone anymore. And his tears, which should have been flowing freely by now, were once again locked up inside of him. 

Even though Vegeta had not eaten since morning, he determined to feed only on his hatred until he found a way to kill Kakarrot. It had been years since anyone had handled him that way, and even though he had not been entered, violent hands had once again touched the most intimate part of his body, and he had been forced into that position of humiliation and submission, and he found it simply ironic, almost laughable, that this was one time he wished he could weep bitterly over it and cleanse himself from it, but his tears had run dry. And Vegeta found himself slipping back into that state of numbing hatred and he didn't even hear the sound of his hope shattering as he slipped into that earlier state of being. And in addition to finding the power to kill Kakarrot, he also determined to find a way to kill all of the feelings he carried in his heart for anyone, because in his rage, he now believed his feelings had made him weak.

"What a joke you truly are, Vegeta!" he said as his hatred spilled over even onto himself. 

And at the Marshall Arts Tournament when Babibi promised Vegeta enough power to kill Kakarrot plus the destruction of his feelings for Bulma and Trunks, Vegeta jumped at the chance, even if it meant giving up his very soul, he didn't care anymore. All that mattered to him was killing Kakarrot for the pain and humiliation he had been put through. 

And when Kakarrot didn't want to fight at first, the warrior didn't hesitate to fire several blasts into the crowd, killing hundreds of innocent people. As their second titanic battle began, Vegeta fought Kakarrot with every ounce of strength in him, and with each attack he knew that as an enhanced version of SSJ2, he was now stronger than his adversary. And he didn't just want to kill Kakarrot; he wanted to kill him slowly and torturously. But then Majin Buu woke up and the pure evil of his power reached even Vegeta, while at the same time, Kakarrot was trying to reach Vegeta as well. 

And when he became convinced that Bulma and Trunks were in grave danger, the power of the love in his heart surged forward, refusing to have ever been so easily destroyed, for it was as defiant and resilient as Vegeta himself. And all that hatred and humiliation simply could not stand against the love he carried in his heart for his family. And it was one little lavender haired boy named Trunks, who saw his father as the light of his life, who saw his father with honor and who saw the honor in the man, whose light was brilliant when he smiled, who had laid tightly beside him and taught him how to find dragons in the clouds, who had become Vegeta's lifeline. 

And when Vegeta saw his son standing there bravely as a Super Saiyan warrior, ready to fight along side his father, convinced that together they could defeat Majin Buu, Vegeta had already put a plan in place to destroy the monster, and with that, he simply walked up and openly hugged his son, openly and lovingly smiling at him, even though he knew Piccolo and Krillen where watching. 

And knowing now that his death was imminent and that the only thing that mattered to him was his wife and his son, the sound of the shattering of Vegeta's hatred and humiliation reverberated through his being as the power of love in the form of a lavender haired little boy refused to allow it to continue. And he looked down at the little warrior in his arms and smiled as the love in his heart reintroduced itself to him. Then, in an act of mercy so his son wouldn't see what was about to happen, Vegeta knocked him unconscious and did the same to the youngest son of Kakarrot.

And when Piccolo came to pick up the young warriors, Vegeta asked him what would happen to him upon his death this time, and even after discovering he would be erased and cease to be because he had harmed so many innocent people, Vegeta stayed true to his resolve to sacrifice his life for the two people he loved more than life itself.

__

"I wanted to be like I used to be.

I wanted to fight you as a cold-hearted, single-minded Saiyan..

I had a family, Kakarotto,

and I liked it"*.

Vegeta 

__

* Episode 231 - _The Ultimate Evil Majin Buu Appears_

Note_: _Episode 237_ - For the sake of my Loved Ones - Vejita Falls: I have referenced this episode even though I took no direct quotes from it, because Vegeta's sacrifice to destroy Majin Buu is an actual part of this episode, and I in no way claim it as my original idea. The story of Vegeta's heart that centers around the sacrifice is however, my original concept, and one to which I proudly stake claim._

****

Author's Note: Vegeta hasn't forgotten about his ultimate plan for revenge on Yamcha, actually it already happened! But he's just kinda busy right now and will tell you about it a little later.


	10. The Sacrifice, Part Two

__

"I had a family, Kakarotto,

And I liked it."*

Vegeta

And in a heartbeat, he was gone. 

And Vegeta, who was Prince, warrior, father, and husband, died that day. And the warrior had died bravely and wildly and passionately, in accord with the manner in which he had lived his life. And he had died without hesitation in order to protect those in his life whom he loved more than life itself. 

It had just been three weeks since that day in which he had looked into Trunks' eyes and had seen himself reflected back in those soft lavender shades of the unconditional love his son had had in his heart for him. And now, just three weeks later, the proud Prince stood looking defiantly into another set of eyes, eyes that were the epitome of evil it itself, and suddenly, the torment he had been experiencing for the last several months had come into focus with crystal clarity for Vegeta. Somehow he had known, without knowing how he knew, that this day was predestined to come.

As Vegeta clinched his fists and began to power up, he knew in his heart that he had made the right choice. And he wondered what he would he would miss the most in his life so far, and he realized the single most important loss he would experience would be that he would never be able to kiss his son again. Yet, he had helped give life to that exquisite little lavender haired creature once and now, he had the honor of giving him life once again and he savored the exquisiteness of that. 

As his power levels began to escalate and surge through him, he found himself surrounded by the brilliant light of an explosion that was imminent, and he wondered also what regrets he would leave the world of the living with. And he realized that no matter how hard he had tried, not one of his fellow warriors had ever honored or truly acknowledged his royal heritage. And he discovered that he would regret never having achieved that.

And he found that he would also regret that not one of them had ever bothered to try to look beyond the walls that he had built around his heart, even though that would not have been an easy undertaking. They simply did not understand that those walls were built to shield himself from the horrors of his life. And they no idea of the full extent of that horror. 

For no one was there to comfort him that night his beautiful young mother was brutally raped and killed by Frieza, and no one there to help him pick up the pieces of his shattered little 5 year old body after Frieza had raped him too that night, and there was no one there to protect him from the daily brutality and humiliation he was forced to endure after Frieza had taken him from the King. Becoming the object of Frieza's brutal passions and hatred was why he was taken from the King in the first place and he became an object of ridicule, rather than Prince. And so he erected those walls to protect himself from the brutality that had forced its way into his life, and after a time, in order to cope, he became brutality and embraced it. 

And it was not that he sought their sympathy, rather, he had simply desired to have the other members of the earth's special forces look into his eyes and acknowledge the pain he had endured, but far beyond that, he wanted them see his triumph. He wanted them to know what he had been through, and to honor him for having had the strength and the power and the passion within himself, and for himself, to have survived it. And he wanted them to know that in spite of all the things that Frieza had taken from him, his pride had stayed intact, beyond Frieza's grasp. 

He realized that Bulma had tried to connect with him in the way that he desired but, as a female, she simply could not understand his warrior pride, yet he loved her anyway, and he had vowed from the first time he laid eyes on her that he would not ever tell her about his life at the hands of Frieza. It would have simply hurt her too badly. 

And he then realized that of all people, Trunks knew somehow, without knowing what he knew or how he knew it, and he was the only one who had reached out to Vegeta and touched him with that which he needed. And that, he would never regret.

And he knew he must stop his current train of thought and suppress the tears that were rising up inside of him or he simply would not be able to do what he had to do.

"I am a warrior!" he had said out loud to himself this one last time, "I can do this!"

And he knew that he so desperately did not want to say goodbye to his son forever, yet he knew that his son deserved to live. Determined not to allow his resolve to weaken, his tears began to flow anyway and bending over and clinching his fists he cried out once again.

"_I AM A WARRIOR!_ _I CAN DO THIS!!!_"

And he turned to growing cloud of electric light energy, his energy, that encased him, and he raised his fists against it in defiance of its weakness and he challenged it to transcend its limitations. And so, it did.

And the proud Prince didn't even hear the sound of the shattering of his body as the explosion ripped through him in that brilliant flash of light, and in an instant, that which he had set out to do was complete. And with that, Vegeta was gone.

He had chosen to make the ultimate sacrifice for his family with the fullness of all the love within him. And he did so knowing that this time, he would be gone forever as he had simply destroyed too many innocent lives to be forgiven. Vegeta knew when he had determined to sacrifice his life that he would not be allowed to cross over into the next dimension this time. Yet, he chose to sacrifice himself anyway, without regard to the consequences of his actions. 

Immediately upon his death, he knew that he would be erased, and cleansed, and would return as someone else one day, and Vegeta, husband, father, warrior, and Prince, would simply cease to exist. And he chose to sacrifice himself knowing that he would never again be able to recognize his son, knowing that he would never be able to check on Trunks from the other world, and knowing that he would never be able to send his love out to his son on the wings of Anuhea's summer mountain breezes. And when the erasure was complete, he knew that he would not even remember that he had ever even had an exquisite little lavender haired son named Trunks. 

Yet, the proud warrior stood there bravely that day as he assumed his rightful and honorable position with the legendary Saiyan warriors of old, and bravely he met his fate head on, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that his love for his family was real, and with that, he realized that he had found that place deep within him that was worthy of their affection. And Vegeta died three weeks to the day after he had seen himself reflected back to himself in those soft lavender shades of unconditional love he saw in the eyes of his son. And so, he had laid down his life to destroy the evil known as Majin Buu.

And as he began to drift through the vast expanse of the nothingness that encased him, his awareness of himself began to slip, and he realized that one by one, his each of his memories were escaping from him into the void. And all he could do was watch each one as it left him and drifted away while he tried to cling to a faint remembrance of a life that used to be. And suddenly, he thought he saw a lavender shaded flash of light come toward him and resonate through him and he so desperately wanted to grasp it and cling to it so he could know that he still existed, somewhere, someplace, but yet, that disappeared as well. 

And as the black nothingness drew him further into it and the last traces of his essence were about to disappear, single words of distant voices began to reverberate through what remained of his awareness of himself and with that, Vegeta could no longer hold on. And just at that very instant when the nothing would be complete and he would cease to be, he was blinded by and absorbed by a brilliant flash of light, and unable to stop it he merged with it, and he was gone.

And after becoming apparent to King Yemma that Majin Buu still lived, the erasure process was stopped at the very last second. And Vegeta was allowed to keep his body after all, so that he could help in the battle that still raged in the land of the living. Vegeta, it seemed, had sacrificed himself for nothing. 

After he had finally arrived in the other world, a familiar presence stayed with him night and day at his bedside as he continued to linger in that place between substance and void, and she feared the worst for her son, knowing that the erasure process might not have been stopped in time. 

And she would sit on the bed by him, and would position him onto her lap and sometimes she would hold him close all through the night, and at other times, she would lie beside her son, embracing his unconscious body and whispering to his essence to please wake back up. 

And then one morning, as if by magic or miracle, he awoke to find himself in the tiny arms of someone he had not seen in 33 years. And Anuhea continued to gently embrace her son as she told him why King Yemma had halted the erasure. The evil known as Majin Buu had survived, and Vegeta would be needed to help in the battle to destroy that evil once and for all. But for now, King Yemma planned to allow Vegeta to remain in the other world under Anuhea's care until he was fully recovered from his ordeal.

And when he was a little stronger, she gathered for him a suitable set of garments one day, and after he had dressed, she returned with food and drink to help him regain his strength, and when he had eaten, she said she wanted to show him the other world viewing room, and helped him to his feet. And with that, the still young and exquisitely beautiful Anuhea and her son made their way slowly down the hallway to the other world viewing room. 

And weeping openly, she showed him the very spot where she had stood every day for the last 33 years when she would come to there to check on him. And she then showed him the window from which she would send her love to him on the wings of her wild and warm summer mountain breezes. Then she promised him that she would help him learn to communicate with his own son in that manner, and that soon he too would be able to launch his love down to his own son every day until he was able to return to the world of the living. 

And as she was speaking, Vegeta was suddenly overwhelmed by the realization that he still knew Trunks! He remembered his son! And he could scarcely breathe! 

And struggling to suppress his tears, Vegeta looked at the beautiful little Queen and he asked her to please leave him for a while.

And after she had closed the door, and only when he was certain he was alone and the intimacy of what he was going to do would not be disturbed, Vegeta, the father, fell to the floor on his knees, buried his face in his hands, and wept as he reached out to reclaim each and every exquisite detail about his son and about their life together. And then, as though it were happening for the very first time, Vegeta remembered that day when he saw himself reflected back to him in those soft lavender shades of unconditional love which emanated from his son's eyes. And he savored the exquisiteness of that again and in that savoring, Vegeta let his mind slip, recalling that brilliant lavender shaded light as it approached him while his was in the nothingness, how it tried to touch him and take hold of him and passed through him, unable find anything to grasp. Suddenly Vegeta realized that the lavender light was Trunks reaching out to him, trying to touch him and take hold of him, struggling not to let his father go. Somehow his son had known, without knowing what he knew or how he knew it, that Vegeta was desperate to be touched in that manner, that his very essence depended upon it. 

Suddenly and out of nowhere, an intense jolt of electric light energy literally surged through his body and he was filled with the presence of son and he felt connected to him and he realized that the connection between them transcended time and space. Overwhelmed by the intensity of what he was experiencing, Vegeta, the father, whose onyx black eyes simply could not contain his tears, sat on the floor with his back resting against a wall and continued the process of restoring the memories of his son. And he was moved when he recalled that night up in the quiet solitude of the bedroom of Kakarrot's youngest son, when he had reached down and gently brushed the lavender hair from his sleeping son's eyes, and then Vegeta recalled what it felt like to kiss Trunks for the very first time. And in his mind, he thought about it, and he savored it, and he experienced it, as though it were happening for the very first time. And with that, the overwhelmed and exhausted Prince fell asleep.

And at that very moment, back in the land of the living, a lavender haired boy laid on a bed high up on Kami's lookout, still unconscious and still unaware that his father had even died. The touch of his father's hand brushing the hair out his eyes began to stir the Trunks out of his unconscious state, and feeling the warmth of his father's gentle kiss on his forehead brought Trunks into a dazed, sleepy sort of awakeness. And Trunks rolled over, fully expecting to see Vegeta standing there beside him. But when he finally opened his eyes and sat up in bed, he discovered that he was in strange bed, in a strange bedroom, and he was alone in the room, except for Goten who was still unconscious on the bed next to him. 

And as he sat upright on the bed trying to figure out how his father could have gotten out of the room so quickly, Trunks proudly decided that Goten's dad was no longer the only one who knew instant transmission! And he decided he was going to go right over, wake Goten up and brag on his dad a little bit. But before he could move off of the bed, from out of nowhere, a jolt of intense electric light energy surged through his little body and struck him with such intensity that literally slammed him back down on the bed. But even in its intensity, it didn't frighten him, as it felt like Vegeta somehow and it was causing Trunks to feel loved and connected to him. And Trunks knew, without knowing how he know, that everything would be okay because his father, who was the best dad in the world and most powerful fighter in the universe, would be back, just as soon as he possibly could, from where ever it was he had just gone to. 

__

I had a family, Kakarotto,

and I liked it"*.

Vegeta 

__

* Episode 231 - _The Ultimate Evil Majin Buu Appears_

Note_: _Episode 237_ - For the sake of my Loved Ones - Vejita Falls: I have referenced this episode even though I took no direct quotes from it, because Vegeta's sacrifice to destroy Majin Buu is an actual part of the episode, and I in no way claim it as my original idea. The story of Vegeta's heart that centers around the sacrifice is however, my original concept, and one to which I proudly stake claim._

****

(to be continued)


	11. The Gift

__

"Something good happened right before he left that world.

His heart was opened up". *

King Kai

And when the time was right, King Yemma had sent Vegeta to fight in the battle against Majin Buu and together, Vegeta and Kakarrot had fought bravely to destroy him, bringing a time of peace to the earth once again. But when the time came to restore the lives of all those killed on earth by Buu, Vegeta had already arranged with King Yemma to reserve the right to make that determination for himself, at a later time, and at a later place, and so, by his choice, he returned to the other world.

And then one day upon returning home, Bulma was drawn to the kitchen by the flickering light of several carefully placed candles on the kitchen table, which surrounded a perfectly folded white silk gown. And pinned to the gown, was a carefully scripted, handwritten note, and lying on top of the note was a single cherry blossom, which was exquisite in its perfection.

Her slender hands trembled as she unpinned the note, because she knew, without knowing how she knew, that her husband had returned to tell her goodbye.

__

Bulma,

Meet me at the quiet place at midnight. 

I want you to wear the garments I have laid here for you.

And just moments prior to your coming to me, I want you soak your beautiful body in the bath, and I want you to scent the water with your perfumed oils, and then I want you drape your exquisite body in nothing but the while silk gown. Nothing, Bulma, but the gown is to touch your skin when you leave to come to me. 

I await you.

Vegeta

After her preparations for the night ahead, she could scarcely breathe as she looked at herself in the mirror. The long sleeved, white silk gown flowed softly to the floor. It was held together in the front from top to bottom by dozens of tiny, brilliantly shaded, hand embroidered ribbons, which were meant to be tied in delicate bows. The obi that wrapped around her was the in the same brilliant shades of blues and indigoes, and almost seemed to have been hand dyed to match and compliment the blueness of her hair and eyes. And to be worn over the top was a long white silk flowing robe like jacket, and it too was long-sleeved, but was not meant to be fastened together and in it, she felt like a Princess.

But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she approached the quiet place. A large, hand woven, brilliantly colored rug in shades of deep reds and indigoes was laid out on the ground and upon the rug, was a small square black table with two black silk pillows set precisely across from each other, meant to kneeled upon. Upon the table, two places were set; each with tiny white porcelain cups, and in the center of the table was a tiny, white porcelain teapot, a smaller white porcelain container, and a small bamboo whisk.

And off to the side and a little ways away, was a nest like bed, fashioned with silk pillows and blankets in every shade of blue imaginable. And the flickering lights of candles dancing in the warm summer night air illuminated the entire area. Bulma thought that she had just stepped into a dream but what she had just stepped into was a traditional Saiyan welcoming ceremony, one as old as time itself.

Mesmerized by the exquisite beauty of what she was witnessing, she didn't even hear Vegeta walk up behind her. 

And he stood before her as a member of Saiyan royalty, a proud Prince, who by the way he held himself, had already assumed his rightful place with the legendary Super Saiyan warriors of old. It was obvious to her when she looked at him. And her soft blue eyes welled up and overflowed with tears because he stood before her fully alive since there was no halo over his head and her heart sang with joy!

And as she was about to speak, he put his finger to his lips, indicating to her to not make a sound as he lead her over to the table and showed her the proper position to be in as she kneeled on the pillow. And Vegeta then sat silently across from her, and picked up the tiny white porcelain cup sitting in front of him, and he placed within it some of the green tea power from the smaller container on the table, and poured steaming water into the tiny cup from the white porcelain teapot. And he mixed it with the bamboo whisk. And when it had reached just the right amount of froth, he handed it to her in silence, but the love that was within his heart for her shone as brightly as the candles dancing all around them. And he indicated that she should drink the tea. Then, when she was done, he motioned that she should now do the same for him. And when she handed the tiny cup to him, for an instant he held both the cup. and her hands, in his. And after he had finished the tea that she had served to him, he finally spoke.

And before he even said a single word, his onyx black eyes were already welling with tears and he struggled to maintain his sense of control and dignity, because what he had to tell her was both exquisitely beautiful, and exquisitely heartbreaking to him.

"Bulma, you are the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. You are my mate, and I know now that we will continue, even into the next dimension. We will be together for the fullness of time, you and I." And he looked at her smiling.

"I have returned here tonight for two reasons Bulma, and it breaks my heart to tell you that I simply cannot dwell in this time and place any longer. I don't know how to be a warrior without the hatred that used to consume me and I don't know how to live without being a warrior. So, I have decided to stay in the other world and wait for you until the fullness of your days here in the land of the living have passed And when that day comes, I will be waiting for you in the other world, and we will be together there for all time".

And he watched her soft blue eyes begin to well up and overflow with tears because she knew that no matter how hard she was going to try to hold her husband, she would not be able to keep him there. And her tears soon turned into quiet sobs, as she so desperately did not want to let him go.

"And now, and I have planned this ceremony because I have a gift for you. Bulma, deep within my body dwells the seed of an exquisitely beautiful little blue haired girl, and I am here to give her to you tonight". 

"Bulma, as she grows inside of you, come here to our quiet place often and know that I will be able to see you from the other world, and during those times when you yearn for my touch, just feel the breeze as it blows sensuously over your body and know that it will be me, savoring every beautiful inch of you".

"And I would like you to come back, right to this very this spot to give birth to my daughter and Bulma, she'll have blue hair and blue eyes and she'll be beautiful just like you. I want her to born right here on this very bed where we are about to make love and welcome her, and I want you to name her Bra. And the first time you hold my daughter to your breast, know that I will be right there beside you, holding the both of you in my heart, and even now I long to share that moment with you". 

And Vegeta paused, struggling to restrain the contents of his breaking heart because this was the first time that he had ever said goodbye to her and as he watched Bulma sitting across openly weeping, he simply could not suppress his emotion any longer.

And she went to him and held him and both of them, husband and wife, wept together in each other's arms not wanting to say goodbye, not wanting to let each other go, but knowing also it was only for a time until they could met again when the fullness of Bulma's days were complete.

When their time of grieving had passed, Vegeta lead Bulma over the bed, and he watched her watch him as he slowly slid the white silk robe like jacket from her shoulders and untied the obi from around her waist. Without a word, Vegeta began to untie one by one, the tiny ribbons that held her long, white flowing silk gown in place, surprising her when he stopped with the one right below her waist. And he watched her watch him as he sensuously slid the white silk gown off her shoulders allowing it to hang at her slender hips. 

With his onyx black eyes flashing, he smiled seductively at her as he dropped to his knees in front of her, and began ever so slowly to untie each ribbon on her white silk gown from the bottom up. And as he worked his way up, untying tiny ribbon by tiny ribbon, he stopped at her thigh and placed his hands gently on her hips, and gazed up at her. And he held her tightly as he began to nuzzle into her, his teeth searching for the end of each tiny ribbon, tugging it open, and tiny ribbon by tiny ribbon he slowly worked his way upward. And he was filled with love for her as he felt her legs begin to tremble and weaken, as she was so filled with desire for him that she could hardly stand. And he loved his wife that night in a way that was yet another first for him. When he was certain the time was right, he picked her up and laid her on the bed he had prepared for her.

And knowing that the evening was not about him, he determined to make love with her simply, and with all the love his heart for her, and so he laid her down, removed his own garments and positioned himself over her and tenderly placed himself deep within her, and whispered for her lie very still, and just take him and savor him. And he moved in harmony with her body's responses to him, intensifying his movements as her passion intensified. He held her face in his hands so he watch her eyes as he made love with her and he could always tell by her soft blue eyes when her time of exquisite pleasure was close. Vegeta wanted to enter that state with her and so he controlled his passion until her time of abandon overtook her, and at that exact moment, he released the seed containing his baby girl to Bulma, and he knew in heart that his daughter would be wild and passionate just like him. And when their passion had subsided, all Vegeta wanted to do was hold his wife while she fell asleep in his arms, telling her that when she awoke, he would be gone. 

When Bulma asked him why didn't want to stay to talk to Trunks, Vegeta simply smiled, and told her that he and his son had been together all day, and that it was Trunks who helped him prepare the quiet place. And quietly weeping, Bulma lie there, spooned in her husband's powerful arms, waiting for him to enter her as he always did when they feel asleep together regardless of how many times they had just made love. And those times when her body desired release because of his touch, he was there for her, but mostly it was his time, and she loved him for it, and she had become accustomed to being rocked to sleep in this manner, safely tucked away in Vegeta's arms.

Bulma realized that both her body as well as her heart would miss him beyond words. And soon, the familiar rocking and sensations he was creating within her lolled her off to sleep, in spite of herself. 

When he was certain she was soundly asleep, he quietly withdrew himself from her as to not wake her, replaced his garments, and began to fly back to Kami's lookout to meet Baba who would escort him back to the earth's check in station. 

Vegeta arrived at Kami's lookout only to see the big and brave, gruff and green Namek standing there, struggling to suppress his tears and not doing a very good job of it. Up to that very moment, Gohan was the only other person he had wept over.

"Namek, you're pathetic!" The proud Prince said with a wicked smile on his tear stained face. "You weep almost as much as I do. Take care them for me, Piccolo." 

As soon as he was done speaking, and even before Baba had arrived, Vegeta found himself standing at the doorway to the earth's check in station to the other world, but before he could cross through the door, a bizarre little creature with a silly little horn in the middle of forehead stopped Vegeta and told him that it was time for him to get on board the small plane that had just landed on the special landing strip to the north. And soon as he got on board the only other passenger was an exquisitely beautiful little former Saiyan Queen, and she was smiling excitedly at him.

"Sit down, Vegeta, we're going home."

"What? Home? What are you talking about woman?'

"You'll see".

The journey seemed endless to Vegeta. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't like it. But he refused to look over at his 20-year-old mother and ask 'are we there yet, mommy', so he sat in an uneasy, frustrating silence. But eventually, the plane landed and several Saiyan warriors all dressed in a similar fashion to him met the plane as it landed. As he got off the plane, Vegeta was in awe and he felt as though he had just stepped back in time to a far away and distant time in Saiyan culture, as the stories he had been told about Vegetasei in the times prior to Frieza were coming to life before his very eyes. There were no vehicles anywhere, and no signs of technology, and the warriors had arrived on horseback and had brought two additional horses with them, one for Anuhea, and the other for him. 

"Hurry Prince Vegeta", they said, "we don't want to be late!" 

And they rode for nearly an hour, finally approaching a palace literally flourishing with activity, and again, Vegeta asked Anuhea what was happening and why they were there were in the first place.

"A coronation is taking place today, my son. Now hurry and get dressed! The Old One will show you where you need to go, and what you need to do." And with that, the Old One, who had befriended Anuhea all those years ago, proudly escorted Vegeta to his room.

And Vegeta could scarcely believe the garments that were laid out for him to wear. Everything was white, except for the robe. The leggings were form fitting, meant to tucked inside of the soft white leather boots, and the tunic cut at his mid thigh and it was fastened by elongated beads of ivory which were inserted into embroidered loops sewn directly across from them. It was long sleeved, and hand embroidered at the end of sleeves, with the embroidery traveling halfway up each forearm. 

But the robe! The robe was meant to be worn over his shoulders, brushing the floor as he walked. And it was held together with a single clasp at his upper chest and its upturned collar just barely touched him at his hairline, and a soft white fur edged the perimeter. The robe itself, in contrast to the white silk garments it was meant to be worn over, was brilliantly colored with in hues of reds and ambers, each swirling together and into each other and blending together. And after he had prepared himself, he walked alone down a long hallway, and as soon as he opened the large double doors, the music began. 

And the hall was filled with Saiyan warriors and royalty and their families who had gathered together from all of the different ages of antiquity, and they stood to their feet as Vegeta passed by. And covering every square inch of the walls in that great auditorium were the portraits of former Saiyan Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses of old and their families, who had taken their honored places among them. Vegeta approached the thrones where the great King and Queen sat, and he noticed that the king was holding a crown in his hands, and on the wall behind him, there was room for only four more paintings, and once those were in place, every inch of the auditorium would be covered by the portraits of Saiyan royalty. And as he stood before that great king, the crown was placed upon Vegeta's head and a portrait of him was placed upon the wall right beside Queen Anuhea's, leaving the only three remaining spots available directly to right beside his portrait. When Vegeta asked whose portraits would fill those spots, he was reminded that he had a wife, a son, and an unborn daughter who would be joining him one day. 

And with that, Vegeta, who had sought so desperately all of his life this type of recognition and honor, suddenly realized all that he had truly sacrificed to achieve it. And rather than feeling the intense pride he always imagined himself to be feeling at a moment like this, he was filled instead with a deep sense of longing and grief, and all he wanted to do was go home to Capsule Corporation. And there, in front of everyone, ashamed of his emotion but unable to suppress it, and wishing he either knew instant transmission or could just disappear and unable to either, he buried his face in his hands and began to weep.

Much to his amazement, the great King arose from his throne, and in front of all those thousands of fierce and legendary Saiyan warriors of old, he embraced Vegeta, enveloping the proud Prince in his massive arms, telling him that it was okay to weep openly and freely, because tears brought life, telling him also to never again feel shame for being who he truly was. And he continued to tell Vegeta that he belonged to a strong warrior race of people who lived and loved passionately, and fought passionately, and yes, even wept passionately. He went on to tell the proud Prince that they were the Saiyan race of old, existing prior to the destruction caused by Frieza, and that somehow, he, Vegeta, had been born completely connected to the old ways, which was why he could transform. The King then told Vegeta that the one called Kakarotto and his family had also been invited to join their ranks one day, and would live out eternity on the heavenly Vegetasei as well.

And the great King himself was now openly weeping because of the compassion he felt in his heart for the wounded warrior in his gigantic arms. And so, having ability to heal, he reached down deep into those hidden places of Vegeta's heart and drew out and healed all the pain and humiliation that Vegeta had suffered at the hands of Frieza. And finally, for the first time since he was just a small boy, Vegeta felt free. The great Saiyan King then told Vegeta to fully embrace every part of who he was, even his tears, because he was strong, one of the strongest warriors the King had ever seen. 

"And now, Prince Vegeta, you must forever chose your path. One will lead to us, and the other will lead you back to the land of the living and your family."

"What? Why?… I do not understand!"

"Prince Vegeta, the fullness of your days have not yet passed and it is not your time to be here. And as soon as you began to realize that you could openly carry love in your heart and still be a fierce and powerful warrior, your heart began to long for home. And that is why, at Anuhea's request, we brought you here, so that you could see that your life is now truly in balance. And we brought you here, still fully alive, to give you the chance to think again about what it is you truly wish to do." 

"You must now chose your path Prince Vegeta, one will end your life prematurely, and the other will take you home where you belong. But before you go, leave the crown and robe!" And the great King said all these things smiling, his face still wet from the tears he had just shed. 

Prince Vegeta bowed before his King, then removed the royal robe from his shoulders and draped it over the King's outstretched arms. Next, the Prince removed the crown from his head and placed it upon the robe, and then he turned and embraced the exquisitely beautiful, tiny Saiyan Queen who had never left his side the entire time. And for the first time in 33 years she heard her son say the words, 'I love you'. 

And the instant before the great King of the heavenly Vegetasei was about to teleport Vegeta back to Kami's lookout, Vegeta noticed there was something different about his portrait. When it had been hung just moments before, there was no robe around his shoulders, one now was draped there, and where there was no crown, one now appeared on his head. And the coronation ceremony that he had waited all his life for, and deserved, was complete. 

In a heartbeat, he was standing back on Kami's lookout where he had only been gone for a just a split second, making it look as though he had never left at all. And when he saw everyone - Kakarrot, Gohan, Krillen, Tienshinhan, Master Roshi, Oolong, and Puar (who left Yamcha at home), all begin to walk out onto the courtyard of the lookout, he realized that they had gathered to try and talk him out of going back to other world. 

And while Vegeta had just been though a life changing experience, he was still Vegeta, and the sly warrior decided to toy with them for a while. After all, he knew he was staying in the land of living, but they didn't. And he wanted to hear everything they would say to him as they attempted to talk him into staying. Then when all was said and done, he determined to play hard to get for a while. And then he planned to shock them all by flinging his arms up into the air and using his best 'Yammi' falsetto voice say, 'Oh, okay. Guess I'll stay then. Bye!' But he also fully planned to put an end to his little game should a sudden and emotional group hug loom on the horizon.

'This should be good!' he thought to himself with a certain amount of glee as he turned his back to them, looking over the edge of the lookout so that no telltale signs of amusement could be seen on his face. To the others, it looked as though he was grieving and they were deeply touched to see him this way.

"You didn't think we'd just let you leave and not say goodbye, did you Vegeta?" Kakarrot said as he walked up to him. "She needs you Vegeta, please change your mind and stay with her". 

And then, of all the warriors there, the typically quiet Tienshinhan walked up to Vegeta.

"Vegeta, I too have a difficult time living in this world that doesn't understand my need for my culture and tradition, which is why I spend most of my time high in the mountains away from everyone. But that doesn't mean I just run away to an easier place whenever I get my feelings hurt. And while, up to this very moment, I did not like you and still don't, I at least had respect for you and for your position as both warrior and Prince, but if you turn tail and run now, that respect will be gone". 

And smiling to himself, Vegeta made a mental note to add that statement to his list of things to remember.

"I guess what we're all trying to say, Vegeta" Master Roshi piped in, "is that none of us want you to go back to other world. We think it would be a darned shame if you made that choice. Your wife and son would be alone, and the earth's special forces would be minus one of its best fighters".

"Vegeta", Gohan began "you've been around almost all of my life. And for most that time, I've either hated you or been afraid of you, or both. And man, Vegeta, you're more powerful now than you've ever been but I'm not scared of you any more, and I kind of like to know who you are now, you know? And you know what else Vegeta, even though most of me understood why my dad chose to stay in the other world for seven years, I still thought that if he really wanted to be my dad, he would have stayed with me". And with that, Vegeta turned to look at Kakarrot, who looked as though Gohan had just slapped him right across the face.

And Gohan too, was looking at his father as he continued.

"Vegeta, don't do that to Trunks. He needs you, just like I needed my dad. And I always felt sort of jealous that Trunks had his father around every day and I didn't. Don't go back, don't make the same mistake with Trunks that my dad did with me. He's told you he's okay with this, but he's heartbroken Vegeta, you mean the world to him".

And Vegeta continued to watch in amazement as Kakarrot walked right up to his adult son, and embraced him and wept openly in front of everyone, completely without shame. 'I hate him, but he too is a warrior of old', Vegeta thought to himself, and was rather amused to think that he would be able to spend eternity trying to beat Kakarrot to a pulp. And he liked that, in an arrogant sort of way. 

"Vegeta, look" And with that, Piccolo cleared a window down to earth where Bulma had just woke up to find him gone.

And Vegeta watched her as she lie there weeping tears that literally emanated from the very center of being. She was completely heartbroken and he was filled with compassion and passion for her. And as he imagined holding her tightly in his arms again, realizing that he could still detect the faint scent and taste of his mate on his body from the night before, his body began to respond to the desire in his heart, straining against its confines, and he determined to take to flight at that very moment to go to her. 

Krillen had chosen just that very moment to walk up to the very deep in thought and impassioned Prince, and all he did was pat Vegeta on the back in an act of attempted friendship and so totally surprised Vegeta that he nearly launched himself wildly into the air rather than down to Bulma. And he realized that the sudden surge of adrenaline not only affected him adversely causing him to want to jump out of his skin, but that part of him that belonged to Bulma that was becoming so ready for her went into shock as well. And he looked down at himself, and he feared that it might take days for his body to wish to come out hiding again. And Vegeta's thoughts quickly turned to Krillen and the infinite number of ways he could maim and torture him and dismember him for the unwarranted interruption.

"Go to her, Vegeta." Krillen quietly urged Vegeta, still touching him. "Don't leave her again". 

"_I hate you, Krillen_!" Vegeta snapped, still staring down at Bulma and still struggling to regain his composure. "Now take your fucking hands off me!"

And at that moment, Krillen held his breath and literally waited for death to come and Vegeta smiled to himself as he realized that he enjoyed being able to do that to him. Vegeta also realized how difficult it must have been for his fellow warrior to attempt to befriend him that way and so his intense frustration quickly subsided. 

"But I thank you. And rest assured that it is only in my mind that I shall continue to dismember you." And with that, he smiled.

"Trunks! You are yet not skilled enough yet to hide your ki from me and get away with it. Stop trying to hide and come out here right now son, and let's go home".

And just as father and son were about to fly down to gather up Bulma and take her home, a realization hit Vegeta with the power of an energy blast. So he stopped, turned around and walked up to Piccolo.

"Namek! When you and Dende watch us down there, just how _much_ do you actually see us do?!"

And with that, Piccolo, knowing what that he always stayed true to his ethics, turned a questioning look to Dende, and he simply had no idea that someone so green could turn so many different shades of red, all at the same time!

"Dende!" Piccolo scolded. "You know we're not supposed to peek!" And too embarrassed to ever face anyone again, Dende went running inside and down the halls and into the basement until he could no longer hear the sounds of their uncontrollable laughter!

And a time of peace had returned to land of the living.

_"Something good happened right before he left that world._

His heart was opened up". *

King Kai

And Vegeta and Bulma went on to live out the fullness of their days together and had many wild and sometimes difficult adventures, but never parted again. And so they determined that when the time came, they would journey to the other world together.

Then one night, after they had made love as they had done every night they were together, the elderly couple fell into a deep sleep and awoke to find themselves standing beside each other at the entrance to the earth's check in station. After King Yemma processed them, a familiar little plane landed on the special airstrip to the north, and the same odd looking creature with the small horn in the middle of his forehead indicated for them to board the plane. And Vegeta wondered if someone like Bulma would be happy on the heavenly Vegetasei because it had no technology.

But when they landed, several attendants met the plane and handed Bulma a small Capsule Corporation container with various capsules enclosed. They also handed Vegeta and Bulma a map to the new home that had been specially prepared for them. And so Bulma chose a fast air car and they were off on their first heavenly adventure. Neither of them could believe their eyes as they saw an exact replica of Capsule Corporation waiting to greet them. They walked in to find replicas of everything they owned and had loved in the land of the living. 

Both were drawn to kitchen where numerous maps were spread out on the table for them. One of the maps showed the layout of the heavenly Vegetasei, including Anuhea's mountain village and her street address. It also showed the exact location of Kakarrot's house, which was on the far side of the planet.

Another map showed the locations of the thousands of planets in the other world along with directions for how to journey there. And when Bulma found the heavenly Earth, it even pinpointed where Mr. And Mrs. Briefs home was.

For Vegeta, there was a schedule of all the upcoming other world tournaments for all eternity. There was also a personal invitation from the Grand Kai himself, asking them to visit him the day after tomorrow. Then when Vegeta and Bulma looked at each other, they both had become young again, and overjoyed, they rushed upstairs to that familiar bedroom and spent all that day there. And they realized that they were now in a place where everyone got what they truly needed.

And on another part of the heavenly Vegetasei, a palace was flourishing with activity as the legendary warriors and royalty of old had gathered to watch as the newest member of royalty had joined their ranks. And the portrait of the blue-haired, blue-eyed wife of Prince Vegeta was hung on the wall. In her portrait, she was wearing a white silk grown that was fastened together by dozens of tiny embroidered ribbons, meant to be tied together in tiny bows and a white robe like coat was worn over the gown. After the portrait was set in place they arose to their feet clapping, and they welcomed Bulma to their ranks as she had taken her rightful place beside her husband among the legendary Saiyan warriors of old.

****

And so ends The Shattering, a story written about the life changing power of love in a bitter and ruthless warrior, who learned to survive by hating the fact that love even existed and who set out to destroy it for his own pleasure as he had done to those lovers on the planet Arlia all those many years ago. Yet, he encountered a beautiful blue haired, blue eyed woman one day on the Planet Namek and his life was forever changed, as she along with his son Trunks, staked claims on his heart that became so large it was simply not possible to drive them out, no matter how hard he tried. And one by one, his barriers to love shattered until one day, he was set free. 

**__**

And on to the epilogue…

* Episode 72, The Ultimate Battle


	12. "And quietly from the other world - Conc...

And quietly from the other world, a gathering of familiar faces -- Krillin, 18, and Marron, Piccolo (who was allowed by King Yemma to return to heaven), Master Roshi, Tien, Chiaoutzu, OxKing, Puar, Oolong, and even Yamcha, who stood at a safe distance, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, and Goku, ChiChi, Gohan, Videl and Goten, as well as Queen Anuhea, Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and Bra -- all joined to together to watch as little Vegeta, Jr., and little Goku, Jr., took their places on the arena floor of that Tenkaichi Budoukai taking place in the world of the living, some 100 years in the future.

"You've done well in your lifetimes, my son and my daughter" the still young and exquisitely beautiful, former Saiyan Queen Anuhea said proudly to Vegeta and Bulma.

"Just look at him!" the wild little Queen beamed. "He looks just like you, Vegeta!"

"Vegeta, that little warrior exists today only because you, my son, in the face of great adversity, chose life rather than death, chose love rather than hate, and chose to create rather than to destroy". 

And the onyx black eyes of the exquisitely beautiful, tiny Anuhea welled with tears as she smiled proudly at Vegeta, knowing that her son had indeed assumed his place with the legendary Saiyan warriors of old. And the onyx black eyes of the proud Prince welled with tears as he smiled right back, knowing that she knew. 

When she walked up to him and embraced him, he didn't turn her away even though he knew everyone was watching.

****

**__**

Greetings from the author:

In the anime world of Akira Toriyama's DBZ and DBGT, Vegeta starts out as a ruthless killer and almost 30 years later, ends up a proud middle-aged warrior completely devoted to Bulma and to his family. He goes on to have a daughter named Bra, who he adores and spoils rotten. And apart from his time spent in the other world after he sacrifices himself to try to destroy Majin Buu, he stays with his family on a daily basis from the conclusion of the Cell Games forward to the end of DBGT. The power of love in his character's life changes Vegeta dramatically, and throughout the anime, the passionate Prince cries more times than even Krillen. He eventually even calls a truce with Kakarotto and together they fight Majin Buu -- and in a true act of impassioned heroics, Vegeta helps save the very earth he set out so long ago to destroy. 

And although I will never know for sure, it is my belief that Akira Toriyama patterned the character of Vegeta after the noble Samurai warriors of old. And with that, I would like to include the following as a tribute to Toriyama as well as to the culture that produced this anime which has touched all of our lives so greatly. See if you can hear the sound of Vegeta's voice, somewhere, somehow, as you read the following.

****

The Samurai Creed

I have no parents; I make the Heavens and the Earth my parents.  
I have no home; I make the Tan T'ien my home.   
I have no divine power; I make honesty my Divine Power.   
I have no means; I make Docility my means.   
I have no magic power; I make personality my Magic Power.   
I have neither life nor death; I make A Um my Life and Death. 

I have no body; I make Stoicism my Body.   
I have no eyes; I make The Flash of Lightning my eyes.   
I have no ears; I make Sensibility my Ears.   
I have no limbs; I make Promptitude my Limbs.   
I have no laws; I make Self-Protection my Laws. 

I have no strategy; I make the Right to Kill and the Right to Restore Life my Strategy.   
I have no designs; I make Seizing the Opportunity by the Forelock my Designs.   
I have no miracles; I make Righteous Laws my Miracle.   
I have no principles; I make Adaptability to all circumstances my Principle.   
I have no tactics; I make Emptiness and Fullness my Tactics.

I have no talent; I make Ready Wit my Talent.   
I have no friends; I make my Mind my Friend.   
I have no enemy; I make Incautiousness my Enemy.   
I have no armour; I make Benevolence my Armour.   
I have no castle; I make Immovable Mind my Castle.   
I have no sword; I make No Mind my Sword.

Could you hear him? 

****

__

"And then one day upon returning home, Bulma was drawn to the kitchen by the flickering light of several carefully placed candles on the kitchen table, which surrounded a perfectly folded white silk gown. And pinned to the gown, was a carefully scripted, handwritten note, and lying on top of the note was a single cherry blossom, which was exquisite in its perfection".

__

"The samurai's life was like the cherry blossom's, beautiful and brief. 

For him, as for the flower, death followed naturally, gloriously". 

Ancient Warriors - The Samurai  
**The Learning Channel (1994)**

****

P.S. Now let me finally tell you about conclusion of Vegeta's ultimate plan for revenge on Yamcha!

At that fateful Tenkaichi Budoukai which had turned out so tragically, a film was going to be shown to the world about how Satan "defeated" Cell. Well, the day before the tournament, Vegeta had switched out the videos, and a PG-13 version of a film of a slightly different nature titled, **_Yammilocks and The Three Horney Bears_**, was shown not only to the spectators in the arena, but was telecast into the homes and offices of viewers all around the world. Some of the were viewers speechless, and of some of them were outraged, and some them even liked it and asked if copies were for sale!

And likewise, the morning of the day before of the tournament, Vegeta had played the uncut XXX version of the video in private showing for Yamcha, just the two them, and he told Yamcha exactly what he was going to do with the other tape. Vegeta also took special care to make sure Yamcha fully understood what would happen should there be any type of interference with his plan. And by the time Vegeta left, Yamcha saw the film, saw the light, saw the error of his way, saw stars, and was still alive to see Vegeta walk out the door. But strangely enough, no one really ever saw Yamcha after that day……..

_ _

Thank you, Vegeta, for touching our lives. We love you. 

_ ****_

LindaN

****

SOURCES 

Dunn, Charles J. Everyday Life in Traditional Japan Tuttle 1969 

McCullough, Helen C. The Tale of the Heike Standford 1988 

Morris, Ivan The World of the Shining Prince Peregrine 1985 

Sadler, A. L. (trans.) The Code of the Samurai Tuttle 1993 

Turnbull, Stephen Samurai Armies 1550-1615 Osprey Military 1979 

Yamamoto Tsunetomo Hagakure Kodansha 1983 


	13. Sneak Preview of "The Shattering II - Th...

**__**

Dear Reader:

It is with great joy and excitement that I tell you about the second story in The Shattering Trilogy called **The Shattering II, _The Heart of Hope_**. It will be a journey into the heart and mind of Mirai Trunks as he finds himself simply unable to survive in the future any longer, and so he travels back in time and right into our lives for a while. 

The past he returns to will be that time of peace after the recent defeat of Majin Buu, and Mirai Trunks hopes against hope that he can find what he is looking for and so desperately desires. And we will see Vegeta through the eyes of his adult son, and we will see Trunks through the eyes of Vegeta, as the saga of Vegeta and his family continues to unfold for us. 

Now 24 years old, 5 foot, 9 inches tall, and weighing 167 pounds, his thick lavender hair hangs down past his shoulders. And he has been touched by loving hands only just once so far in his lifetime, and then only briefly.

Watch for it, it'll knock your socks off! (^_~)

***

And so begins **The Shattering II  - _The Heart of Hope_**, the multi-chaptered, second story in the The Shattering Trilogy focusing on Vegeta and his family. Journey with Mirai Trunks, as he hopes against hope, to connect and reconnect to special loved ones in the past. Trunks will show us his passionate warrior's heart and the story will be a powerful blend of humor, and drama, and maybe even a little romance, as he works through his relationships with Vegeta, Gohan, and Goku. And this story too, will have a happy ending, but it will take him some time to get there. Story takes place during that quiet DBZ timeline after Majin Buu's death.

***

Welcome to the story, Mirai Trunks! You've touched our hearts and we love you.

**__**

LindaN


End file.
